The Perfect Life
by littlemsstrawberry
Summary: AU. Cagalli had the life girls would dream of. However, everything changed when she had to take care of her half brother. Moving from the city to the suburbs, she met new neighbours and made new friends, including Athrun Zala, the hot new guy next door.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.**

**A/N: Cagalli is a little OOC here but I hope you would still give my story a chance and read it. No flames please. Please respect that this is my story. Constructive criticism is accepted. Thank you in advance for reading!**

_Dear diary,_

_This is my horrific attempt in trying to write. My ex-therapist (bless her soul) recommended me to keep a diary. I currently don't have a therapist after my last one died in a fire. Yes, I know it's tragic... So where shall I start? Ok, I am Cagalli Yula Athha, age twenty-one this year. I live in a penthouse in the city and I__ got a job in Clyne__ Models (__a.k.a.__ the top modelling agency in the world). My hobbies are partying and dancing.__ Wel__l, this practically sums up my life __story. I mean, what more is there to tell? Oh right. Family. I forgot. In my defense, it's quite easy to forget family especially if you don't have one. My father died three years ago of cancer. My mother is basically non-existent. My parents divorced when I was even too young to remember. And I've never seen my mother since. You don't have to feel pity for me or anything. I bear no grudges or harbour ill-feelings for the woman. Honestly, I feel nothing at all. That was what scared my father though. That's why I had therapy since six. Speaking of which, I better start looking for a new therapist. I think I'll stop here for now._

_You__rs truly,_

_C__agalli_

Chapter 1

It was around ten in the night as I made my way around downtown Orb in a blue strapless taffeta cocktail dress. I was going to meet Meyrin at _Club Duel_, a newly opened nightclub in town. I finally spotted the magenta coloured hair girl in the middle of a long queue that could very well go down to the next avenue. Meyrin was waving at me to get my attention. I walked over to her only to pull her out of the queue. Then I walked with her straight to the entrance, ignoring the looks the people in the queue gave us. I gave my brightest smile as the bouncer greeted us.

"Hey Cagalli," the bouncer whose name I had forgotten smiled back. That was one of the pluses working for _Clyne Models_. You get special treatment. Of course not to mention the fact that I was the daughter of the ex-governor of Orb.

I walked into the club with Meyrin. It was jam packed with people. Somehow, Meyrin and I managed to make our way to the bar. It wasn't long before the bartender walked over to us with a glass of martini.

"Complements from the gentleman over there," he told me as he gestured to a young man seated at the opposite end of the bar. And there began the little game Meyrin and I often play. She gave me a grin as she hopped off the stool, looking for her targets. I picked up the glass and raised it to toast to the man who just bought me a drink. I smiled at him as I took a few sips. Then, putting the glass back on the counter, I took the little stick that came along with the drink and walked off.

I wasn't really sure how much time had passed when Meyrin caught up with me again. She dropped a hand full of sticks on the table. I smiled at her as I placed my owns sticks on the table.

"I guess we're tied tonight," I said.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes at me. "You weren't even trying."

I smiled again at her. "Come on! Let's dance!" I urged her to the dance floor.

I was in lala land. And I was sure of that because I found myself back in high school. I was up on the board with a marker in hand. It was chemistry class and I was apprently called to draw the structure of a phenol. A benzene ring- a hexagon with a circle in the middle- was already drawn out and all that was left for me to do was to attach an 'OH' branch. It was simple enough though the teacher was hurrying me. As I held the marker to draw the final branch out, the benzene ring moved! I tried again and again, but I couldn't draw because the incomplete organic structure on the board wouldn't stop moving.

"Miss Athha," the teacher was getting impatient.

I was cursing by then. Couldn't she see that I was having a tiny problem? It did not seem apparent to her and I wanted to yell at her. All of a sudden, everything moved in slow motion. I could see the teacher's mouth open really slowly to call my name again. But it wasn't her voice this time I heard. It was a ringing sound. I blinked once, trying to figure out what was happening.

It wasn't long before I opened my eyes for real and stared at the painted sky blue celing. The telephone was ringing. I picked up the cordless receiver placed on my bedside table.

"Hello?" I mumbled.

"Miss Athha?" I recognised the voice as the guard downstairs in the lobby. As usual, I just couldn't remember his name.

"Yes?" I answered in a throaty voice.

"There's a man named La Flaga from the social service department here to see you. Shall I send him up?" he asked.

Social service department? Why would they want me? I sat back upright on my bed.

"Miss Athha?" he spoke.

"Umm, send him up in ten minutes," I replied. I was in no state to meet anyone just yet. I was still clad in last night's dress and reeked a little of alcohol. It was a good thing that I had not drunk as much in the night before. Otherwise I would have a terrible hangover now.

"No problem Miss Athha," he said before the line went dead.

Stumbling into my bathroom in a hurry, I rushed to get ready. Ten minutes later, my visitor had arrived.

"Miss Cagalli Yula Athha?" a blonde man spoke when I opened the front door.

"Yes and you must be Mr La Flaga," I said.

"Yup, but just call me Mu," the blonde man said.

"Just call me Cagalli," I smiled as I invited him inside the penthouse.

"You're place is amazing," Mu commented as he sat down comfortably on the couch. I couldn't agree more. The marble flooring... The bricked fireplace... The Brazilian rosewood bar... Everything was put together just right with parchment panels framed with the rosewood to match.

"Thank you," I said, and then offering him some coffee.

"I'm from the social service department," Mu started.

I nodded my head as I let the man continue.

"Do you by any chance know a Kira Yamato?" Mu asked.

"No. Why?" I asked back puzzled.

Mu took a deep breath before explaining. "He's your half brother."

_Your half brother... half brother... brother... _These words kept on repeating themselves to me.

"What?" I said flatly.

"Via Hibiki, your mother, was his mother too," Mu explained patiently.

"Oh," I said, not knowing how to respond. I never expcted anything like this. But I also had a lingering feeling. Did he just use the past tense?

"Was?" I questioned.

"Yes. Via Hibiki died six years ago in child birth. A year later, her husband Mr Yamato died in a car accident. They left their son, Kira, behind," Mu told me.

Ok, I had a little bit of information overload. I learnt that my mother was dead and that I have a long lost brother all in one day. Alright, it's half brother. We're only related through our mother. And why was this guy only telling it to me now? I mean, it sounds as if... No... I think I've been watching too much soap operas.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Mu continued.

It's alright, I nearly wanted to say but caught myself on time. I mean, how can it be alright? My mother had passed away. It was almost scary that I felt nothing of grief. Was I losing my humanity? To tell you the truth, I don't have much feelings. Of course, I reasoned with myself that the loss of my mother had not fully sank in yet. Yes, I do feel sad. But it was a different sadness from when father died. Again I could reason that I probably wasn't as attached to her.

"You're Kira's only living relative," Mu broke me from my train of thoughts.

Oh gosh. I somehow knew what he was about to say next and I beat him to it. "So let me guess," I said. "I have to take care of him?"

"Well..." Mu said.

Oh you had got to be kidding me. My life was like a soap opera.

"What happened to the other people who took care of him after his parents died?" I asked. Don't tell me they died too? I didn't say that one outloud.

"No," Mu replied. "Before you, he had no other relatives. He was thrown between foster care and orphanage," he said sadly.

"Then why can't he stay in foster care?" I asked.

"Though Orb is one of the most advanced countries, we have a terrible orphanage and foster care system. He'll be better off with you. You're his only family. It took us a really long time to find you, years in fact. The system was really bad... Papers were lost... Children were abused... It was a miracle that we managed to find you."

I kept quiet. What should I tell him? Surely I need not give my answer straight away?

"I know it's a big decision. You'll probably need some time to sort things out. I'll contact you again in a few days," he said as he stood up.

I stood up too and in silence, walked him to the front door.

"It's your call," he said before he left.

Shiho showed up at my door step with three big bags full of ice cream. She had called me not too long ago saying that she needed company. It seemed that we both had our own share of problems. I took two spoons from the kitchen drawer and then brought two of the giant tubs of ice cream with me into the living room while Shiho stored the rest of the ice cream in the fridge. She then joined me on the couch as we began our misery session. That was how we- meaning Shiho and I, excluding Meryrin- drown out our sorrows. We don't flood ourselves with alcohol but instead pig out on tubs and tubs of ice cream.

"So what happened to you?" I asked Shiho first before stuffing a spoon full of ice cream into my mouth.

Waving her spoon in the air, she replied. "Oh nothing much actually," she said matter-of-factly. "My parents just happily decided on their own that they shoud interfere with my life and condemn me to a marriage of convenience."

"Oh... So what are you going to do? Any plans whatsoever?" I asked, a bit wary that Shiho was rather calm. I expected her to throw a fit especially that she was thrown into an arranged marriage. Shiho never thought well of arranged marriages. She always refered to them as 'a marriage of convinence', which is of course another term for an arranged marriage.

"Not really... I mean, it's not as if I can defy my parents..."

Again I was taken by surprise. This was not the Shiho I knew. The old Shiho would fight back and get things done her way.

"So enough about me," she continued. "What happened to you?"

"So what did I miss?" Meyrin came bursting through the living room. She gave a disgusted face when she saw the empty tubs of ice cream piled up on the coffee table. "You guys should definitely find something else to do," she said. "What happened to you two anyway?"

We told Meyrin about Shiho's problem first.

"So? Tell me!" Meyrin demanded. "Is he hot? Is he rich?" she asked excitedly.

We expected that of Meyrin of course, we trust Meyrin to be dreaming of hooking up with a rich and hot bachelor everyday of her life.

"As a matter of fact, you are half right Meyrin," Shiho replied. "I heard that he is some wealthy old geezer. Not very good looking but rich enough to meet your standards."

Meyrin gaped at Shiho and I chuckled a bit. Meyrin looked back at me for any confirmation that Shiho was lying and I shook my head and laughed at her naivity. Seriously, Shiho's parents are not that bad people. They would obviously choose a decent guy for Shiho at least.

We told Meyrin my problem next. Meyrin was not the least bit supportive. She was totally not into the idea of me taking my half-brother in.

"Obviously Cagalli, you have no experience with children. I had to take care of my boss's children and believe me, it was a nightmare!" Meryrin exclaimed.

"Oh please Meyrin," Shiho interupted. "You sound as if you had to take care of them for days when the truth is that you only had to watch them for fifteen minutes," Shiho rolled her eyes.

Ignoring Shiho, Meyrin continued, "Do not be fooled by the angelic faces they give you because behind all that are hideous little monsters waiting to come out!"

"He's her brother for goodness sake!" Shiho said exasperated. "It's easier said than done for Cagalli to leave him in the lurch."

"So she's really going to take care of him?"

Meyrin and Shiho continued their argument for one hour. The way Meyrin saw it, my life would basically be over if I take Kira in. Shiho on the other hand thought I would be better off with family.

I sighed. I still had a few days left to make the decision, the decision that would change my life forever.

I think I had lost it. I called Mu and told him that I would be taking Kira in. I didn't think I was in the right state of mind when I made that call. It was probably due to my overdose of cold syrup the night before. It's too late now. I was already here. Mu asked me ten times if I was sure of doing it and I said yes all ten times. But it wouldn't be that bad right? Taking Kira in I mean. It's just like taking care of a pet right? Goldie, my pet gold fish, was still alive and swimming after all these years.

I felt a cool gentle breeze as I stood outside a dilapidated house. Some of the windows were broken and the roof looked like it was in need of repairs. I couldn't help wonder what happens when it rained. The people did not seem to have drowned inside.

I looked around at the unkept garden. The grass were all uneven and the tallest of them reached up to my knees. There were no happy children running and playing about in the garden as I had seen on TV. Suddenly, something caught my attention. I saw a young boy with unruly brown hair staring out of the small attic window. He wasn't looking at me and I doubt he even noticed my presence, he seemed to be looking at a distance far away. I wondered if all the children were like that. He looked sad and forlorn.

Taking a deep breath, I walked up to the door and pressed the bell. This was it. There was no turning back. The door opened. It was Mu who greeted me at the door.

"Hey Cagalli, I'm so glad to see you," he said. "Come in!"

The inside of the house wasn't as bad as it looked on the outside. Mu led me to the living room where the patched up couches were in the middle. The rusty old fan at the side was the only source of comfort from the blistering heat. I wondered how the people survived in here. Where was the aircon?

"Tea?" Mu asked me.

I looked at the cup he offered me. It had some sort of stain but I took it anyway and took a quick sip. I had no idea what tea he gave me- it was bitter but it had a sweet smell. I was never a tea expert- the only tea I drink was ice lemon tea. I was more of a latte, Starbucks person.

"Here are the papers," he handed me a brown envelope and a pen. I only had one piece of paper to sign though I had expected an inch thick of them.

"You don't live here, do you?" I asked Mu. The place was seriously pathetic. I couldn't even imagine living here.

"No, but I'm not much better off either. We social workers don't get paid very well," he replied.

"That's very noble of you to choose this profession then," I told him.

He gave me a smile. "It's very rewarding when you see the smiles and happy faces of the children. Hey, do you want to look around this place? You'll be able to see the other children," he asked me.

"Sure, why not," I replied.

Mu then led me out to the backyard. There, I saw the truths in the words of Meyrin. It was a battlefield out here. Children, or should I say little monsters, were dashing about screaming their lungs out that my ears were starting to hurt. Some were pouncing on each other and biting each other's head off. There was also a violent game of tug-of-war going on. The children were fighting over a rag doll which if you asked me looked like the chew toy of Pumpkin (Meyrin's dog).

"Alright kids that's enough! Behave yourselves, we have a guest here!" Mu hollered after them. In the back of my mind, I was hoping Kira was not one of them. They were mad animals on the loose.

"Kira's not here! I'll go find him as soon as I stop these children from killing one another!" Mu shouted over the loud cries of the children while attempting to pluck the children off each others back. I had a sigh of relief when I found out that Kira wasn't one of the children on the loose. That means I still had a chance of surviving after all.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" a woman who looked worse than Nanny McPhee roared. She had a giant mole on her face and had a deadly aura surrounding her. She was not one to be messed with. Sure enough, the children all hushed down.

"Miss Athha," the scary woman said. "This is Kira." She stepped aside so that I could see the boy hiding behind her. A familiar brunette came into view and realisation struck me. He was the boy I first saw. Great, I got the gloomy depressed one.

"Err... Umm... Hi!" I looked at him, gave a small smile and waved. I was actually nervous and I didn't know why. After a light nudge, Kira stepped forward towards me, but he still wouldn't look me in the eye. He looked scared or nervous, I'm not entirely sure.

"Err, are you ready? Shall we go?" I asked him, not sure of what else to say or do in awkward situations. "Oh right, umm... I'm Cagalli," I said suddenly feeling stupid for forgetting to introduce myself. "I'm your sister, if you don't know that already," I mumbled.

We got into my red convertible. Kira didn't have much things to take with him. What few clothes and possessions he had all fitted inside a small paper bag. I reminded myself to make a quick stop at the mall later on to buy him some decent clothing, one that actually fitted him.

The other children were gathered around my car, looking in awe and some envy.

"Wow, it's so shiny!" said one.

"Kira's so lucky! I wish I have someone rich to take me away from this place too!" said another.

"ALRIGHT KIDS! STEP AWAY FROM THE CAR!" Nanny McPhee hollered. Her name really was McPhee, I just added the word 'Nanny' in front.

This was it. This was not how I imagined a perfect life to be.

**To be continued.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Gundam Seed.

**Summary: **AU. She had the life girls would dream about. Living in a penthouse suite in the city... Working in the top modeling company... Partying in the hottest nightclub in town... However, everything changed when she had to take care of her younger half brother. She found herself moving to the suburbs, away from city life. She met new neighbours, made new friends, including this hot new guy next door.

**A/N: **Kira's six years old by the way. Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing!

**... ... ...**

_Dear diary,_

_I just got some news from Mu. He said that he found my sister and that she will be taking me in. Mu said she will be coming tomorrow. I'm scared. What if she doesn't like me? Will she hit me too like the others? Mu said it'll be different. She's my real family though we have different fathers. He also said I will get to go to school. He said that life will be better for me. I really hope he's right. And most importantly, I hope she would like me._

_Kira_

**... ... ...**

Chapter 2

Mrs McPhee brought me to the backyard. She said big sister Cagalli was already here for me. I hid behind Mrs McPhee as I caught a glimpse of her. She was dressed in long pants and a red top. There was the usual screaming session and before I knew it, I was face to face with her. I quickly casted my eyes down.

"Err... Umm... Hi!" I heard her say. I stumbled forward when Mrs McPhee gave me a light nudge. "Please let her like me!" I was praying.

"Err, are you ready? Shall we go?" she asked. "Oh right, umm... I'm Cagalli. I'm your sister, if you don't know that already," she said.

I didn't say goodbye to the other children. They weren't my friends. I had no friends.

"Take care kid," Mu said to me. "I'll still be seeing you from time to time though. I'll be visiting."

Cagalli opened the door to her car. It was shiny and red in colour. She probably liked red a lot. Her car was red and her clothes were red.

It wasn't long before we hit the road. She didn't say anything during the drive. I would take glances at her but would catch me and I would look away.

After what seemed like hours, the car stopped. "Come on," she said as she got off the car. I followed her quietly into a store.

"Cagalli darling!" a woman wearing funny blue clothes came over to give Cagalli a hug. "You came just in time! I just designed new clothes and I want you to model them!"

"Aisha! Actually, I was hoping you could get some clothes for him," she pushed me lightly towards the woman. She had long silky dark hair.

"Oh my, what do we have here? Who's this cute little guy?" she asked as she bent down to my level.

"He's my half brother," she told her.

"Well, you two do have some resemblance. Come on little guy, let's get you to try out some clothes," Aisha smiled at me as she gently took my hand.

I followed her but I looked back to Cagalli. She was sitting on a large round chair, looking at her mobile phone. I was afraid that she would abandon me and leave me behind. The woman called Aisha, took some clothes out from and then rack and then brought me towards this long thick dark curtain.

"You can change by yourself right?" she asked me. She seemed rather patient. I nodded my head. She handed me a bunch of clothes and pulled away the curtains. "In you go," she said and before I knew it, I was inside this small room. Memories started flooding into my head. I remembered the times when _he_ would lock me up inside the closet, sometimes for days at a time. The square room, unlike the dark closet, had bright lights. Still, I got scared. I started to pant. The walls seemed to be closing up on me. I couldn't take it anymore. I cowered down and I screamed.

The curtains were drawn and Miss Aisha was in front of me. "What's wrong?" I dashed out of the square room ignoring her. There were tears in my eyes as I kept on screaming, trying to drown out those painful and frightening memories.

"Kira!" I heard her voice. Then, my body collided into someone else's. I felt arms wrapping around by body. I screamed louder, wildly trashing about. Still, the person wouldn't let go.

"Kira! Kira! It's me Kira! It's me Cagalli! Your sister!" I heard her say and looked up. My tears were blocking by vision. Everything was in a blur but I could see her golden hair and smell her sweet smelling scent. I calmed down immediately. I was in her arms as she tried to soothe me. My tears still kept on pouring.

"He's not cluster-phobic is he?" I heard Miss Aisha say, worried.

Cagalli did not answer her. Instead, she patted by back and drew circles as she whispered to me. "It's alright Kira, I'm here. Your big sister is here. You don't have to be afraid. I won't let anything or anyone harm you."

I threw my arms around her neck, refusing to let go. I was afraid that if I do, she would disappear. My tears were already drying up and my eye lids were getting heavy. I looked at her once last time before I gave in to my tiredness and closed my eyes.

**... ... ...**

_Dear diary,_

_I had the biggest scare of my life earlier. After fetching Kira from the orphanage, I took him to Aisha (she's the top designer here in Orb) to get some clothes. I didn't what happened but Kira started screaming and going bonkers on me. He was in the changing room one minute and the next, he practically flew out! I caught him just in time. I've never seen anyone look so scared in my entire life. I did not know what else to do but to continue holding him tight. Aisha said he was probably cluster-phobic. I just don't want to relive that experience. I should take him to see my new found therapist. It'll do both of us some good. Kira's sleeping now on my bed. I think I'll turn in now too._

_Yours truly,_

_Cagalli_

**... ... ...**

I didn't sleep very well last night. I found it strange to sleep with another body next to mine. I didn't have that many chances after all. Unlike Meyrin, I still have my virginity. I didn't go around sleeping with the first hot guy I see. I never thought I would have to share my penthouse with someone else either, so it didn't really occur to me to get a two bedroom room apartment.

I got out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom to wash up. Kira was still sleeping and he looked absolutely like a little angel. I have to resume work tomorrow; I didn't take a very long leave. I took out my hand phone. I had a list of things to do today. The first was to find a new penthouse, one that has two bedrooms. The second was to find a school for Kira to attend. The last on my list was to take Kira to see my therapist. I had already made an appointment.

I was in the living room balcony taking to Shiho over the phone.

"Still alive?" she joked.

"Who do you think is talking to you now if I were dead?" I replied.

"Oh my goodness! And imposter!"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "So when are you going to meet him?" I asked.

"Huh? Him? Who? Oh... Yea... After I come back from overseas," she replied.

"You're going overseas? You're not trying to run away are you?"

"No of course not," she replied. "The company's sending me for some business trip. It's some last minute decision. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Cagalli! Cagalli! Where are you?" I suddenly heard the frantic cries of Kira. Shiho heard it too.

"Oh my gosh! What's happening? Is this house on fire?" Shiho asked me.

"I'm not sure. I'll go check it out now. Call you back later!" I hung up and then ran to the living room. Kira was standing beside an opened front door. His tiny fists were clenched up into a ball and rubbing his eyes. He was sobbing.

"Kira! What's the matter? What happened?" I ran to him.

I nearly fell on my butt when he jumped up on me, his small arms wrapping around my neck.

"You're still here! You didn't leave me behind!" he half sobbed.

"Of course not silly! Why would I do that?" I tried wiping some of his tears off.

"I promise I'll be good! Just don't leave me! I don't want to go back!"

Alright, maybe I should put seeing my therapist as number one on the list.

"I won't leave you," I tried to soothe him. "No more tears now."

His tears stopped flowing and I congratulated myself. Not bad Cagalli! You have a way with kids!

"Hey, why don't you wash up now ok? Once you're done, you can come back here and watch cartoons."

I was glad that Kira was obedient. He went straight back to my room. I closed the front door. Just as I was about to call Shiho, Kira came running back.

"Umm... Where can I get my clothes?" he asked me, casting his gaze to the floor as if he was embarrassed.

"Oh, right. I'll get it for you. Come," I told him as I walked into my room. I had already placed everything inside my walk-in-closet.

"Here," I handed him a white shirt and a denim jumper suit. I also passed him a pair of SpongeBob undergarments which I took from the drawers. He took them all quietly but still hasn't move to the bathroom.

"Is there something else?" I raised my eye brows as I asked him, trying to sound as patient as possible.

"Umm... Err..." he was muttering something incoherent. "Not at all! Thank you!"

"No problem," I replied. I watched him as he walked slowly to the adjoining bathroom. "Kira wait!" I suddenly called him. He immediately turned back. "Would you like a bubble bath? I'll help you set it up," I said as I walked with him to the bathroom. I turned on the taps as water from the ceiling poured down.

"Wow!" Kira said amazed. It looked like it was raining inside the toilet. It wasn't long before the tub was filled with water and foam.

"Take your time ok? I'll be outside in the living room if you need me," I told him.

Then I called Shiho.

"Hey what happened?" she asked me worried.

"Nothing much actually. Kira just thought I had abandoned him," I replied.

"Oh I see... So what is he doing now?"

"He's having a bubble bath."

"What?"

"He's having a bubble bath," I repeated.

"Yes I know I heard that the first time!" Shiho snapped at me. "Are you with him? Are you watching him?"

"No. Why would I?"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? HE COULD DROWN INSIDE!" Shiho yelled at me.

"Don't be ridiculous!" I laughed at the paranoid Shiho. "He's not swimming in a pool."

"In case you have forgotten Cagalli, your tub is not the normal sized tub people have in their homes. Unless he's big for his age, he could possibly drown inside that giant tub of yours."

I was hit with suddenly realisation and an unknown fear came inside of me. Oh my gosh, Shiho was right! I rushed to the bathroom.

"Kira!" I shouted as I burst into the bathroom. He was not in sight. Did he really drown inside? The large stone sunken tub was filled with foam right to the very brim. It looked as if it could overflow anytime. I hoped I didn't have to jump in and rescue him. I had already taken my bath.

"Cagalli?" I heard his voice. He came from beside me, still in the clothes he had worn in the orphanage.

"For a second there I thought you drowned inside," I had a sigh of relief. "Why aren't you undressed and bathing now? The water's not too hot is it?"

"N-No. It's not that." I could see that his face was turning red. "I-I couldn't unzip," he showed me his pants.

Oh so that was the reason. Goodness, I didn't have to help him did I? That would be quite weird.

Just then, the door bell rang. I was saved from this awkwardness! It was Shiho at the door. She lived nearby, just across the street from my building.

"Is he ok?" she asked worried.

"Yea, he didn't drown. He didn't even get inside the tub."

"What happened? He's not afraid of water is he?"

"No. His zipper is stuck. And you... my dear friend... are going to help him," I smiled at Shiho as I led her to the bathroom where Kira was sitting on a cushioned seat inside.

"What? Why me?" Shiho exclaimed.

"Why not you? I can't do it!" I told her.

"He's your bother," she stated.

"It's weird!" I replied.

"It's even weirder for me!" she retorted.

I took a quick glance at Kira. He looked confused. Putting on my sweetest smile, I said to him, "Kira, this is Shiho, my best friend. And she's going to help you with your... zip."

Shiho took my elbows and she gave me a death glare. "What?" she hissed at me.

I only smiled back innocently and said, "Isn't that right Shiho?"

I could see beads of sweat forming at the side of Shiho's face. "Well... I... Err..." she mumbled.

**... ... ...**

I perched myself at the edge of the sunken tub with my feet wading in the water. Kira had practically pulled me down to sit with him through his bath. Shiho had left us, excusing herself that she needed to pack for her trip. The whole zipper incident was solved after I practically tugged and nearly tore apart his zipper. I felt like a pedophile, taking advantage of a kid. At least Kira seemed to be enjoying himself. He looked fascinated with all the bubbles and the foam. But he didn't talk much to me.

"I'm going back to my room ok?" I stood up as I started to wipe my legs with the towel. "You can stay here as long as you like," I told him. I got rid of some water from the tub earlier on. So it was unlikely that he was going to drown inside.

Kira also stood up. "No, I'm done already," he said quickly.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

He nodded his head as he made his way to the small steps of the tub. I quickly took a new towel and wrapped it around him. He could catch a cold if he was exposed to the cold air.

"Wipe yourself dry and go to the room to change," I ordered him as I pressed the button to empty the tub. I then made my way to the kitchen which was adjoined to the living room. I sat on one of the bar stools as I poured myself some water. A little while later, Kira came to see me.

"What's breakfast?" he asked me.

I blinked at him. Huh? Breakfast? Right. I forgot. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day and I forgot. My breakfast usually consisted of a latte and I was good to go.

I opened the kitchen cabinets. They were all empty. The fridge too was bare apart from a carton of expired milk at the lower compartment. I opened the freezer at the top. It was packed with tubs of ice cream. That would do I guess. I took one tub out and handed it to Kira together with a spoon.

**... ... ...**

I was sitting on the black leather couch in the office of my therapist, Marrue Ramius. Dr Ramius was sitting in front me, scribbling some notes. Kira was outside with the secretary. I was waiting for the Doc to give me her diagnosis.

"Miss Athha tell me," Dr Ramius started. "Has Kira been abused by his former guardians?" she asked me.

"Err... I'm not sure. He doesn't tell me much," I admitted.

"He's a very quiet kid," she told me. I knew that one already. Tell me something I didn't. "After my little chat with him, I realised he's very afraid of you leaving him," she continued. Oh that made sense. I kinda knew that too. I could probably be a good psychologist. "The boy has been through a lot and I understand that you live in the city, Miss Athha." I nodded my head. "It'll be in Kira's best interest if you two live somewhere quieter."

Say what? What did she just say? "What?" I said.

"The city's hardly a conducive place for him, especially if you want him to recover and have a better life."

I stared at her. Where do we live then? The country side? Should we stay in a farm and milk cows for a living?

I walked out of her office, towards Kira. The boy was sprawled on the floor drawing stick figures.

"Come on Kira, let's go!" I told him. I have a property agent to call.

**... ... ...**

It was the following morning and I was in deep trouble. I had to go back to work that day and I hadn't found anyone to babysit Kira while I was away. I couldn't send Kira to daycare. No matter how many times I assured him, he would still think that I was going to leave him and never come back. He would absolutely be against daycare. I cursed myself for not enrolling him in a school earlier. The only option I had now was to get someone he was comfortable with to babysit him. I couldn't ask Shiho. Her flight was leaving in a few hours. Suddenly, someone came to my mind.

**To: Mu**

**From: Cagalli**

**Text message: SOS! HELP!EMERGENCY! Come to my place NOW!**

It wasn't long before Mu came rushing into the penthouse. He had told me before to contact him if I had any problems. If it was an emergency, he would come immediately.

"What happened? Is everything ok? Where's Kira?" he asked frantically.

I pointed towards the kitchen where Kira was sitting on the bar stool. "He's eating breakfast."

Mu seemed to have calmed down when he saw Kira in one piece. But he raised his eye brows soon after. "You're feeding him ice cream for breakfast?"

I looked at my watch. I was going to be late if I didn't start moving. "Erm, yea," I answered him absentmindedly.

"So what's the emergency?" he asked me.

"Late for work! Gotta go! Take care of Kira!" my words came out like a speeding bullet as I ran for the front door, giving Mu no time to react.

"H-Hey kid!" Mu called after me.

"Sorry! And thanks!" I shouted back right before the doors of the lift closed.

Phew! That was a close call! I actually made it out alive. Mu was now calling by hand phone, I just ignored it. I stopped for a short while in Starbucks, needing my daily booze. I headed straight to work afterwards.

"It's good to have you back Cagalli," the executive director Natarle Badgiruel (aka my over demanding boss from hell) said to me as I walked into the agency.

"It's good to be back," I replied. I've only been gone for two days and they're missing me already? Like that was going to happen.

"And Cagalli," Natarle said. "There's a fashion show in Milan in a few days. You can go in my stead."

"Oh no, I can't," I told her sadly. "I have to take care of..."

"Yes, oh... Right... You have to baby-sit." Natarle waved her hand in the air. "Get the girl then... what's her name... to replace you."

"Lunamaria?" I suggested.

"Ah, yes her," Natarle said before returned to her private office.

"Cagalli!" I heard my name being called. I turned around to see a girl with short magenta hair walking towards me flustered. The girl Lunamaria was actually Meyrin's older sister.

"What's wrong Luna?"

"We've got a problem! One of clients is not satisfied with our models, and we don't have any replacements!" she said exasperated.

"Are they here right now? I'll go and talk to them," I said.

Luna nodded her head as she lead me to another room.

"Cagalli darling!" a woman with a thick French accent said. "I'm so glad you're here! These imbeciles Natarle hired don't know anything! They can't do their jobs right! They should be fired!"

Luna immediately paled. She didn't want to lose her job.

"Let me what I can do for you," I smiled at her as Luna passed me a file. I took a quick scan and snapped the file shut. "Don't worry," I assured her. "I'll get you a replacement. Give me a few minutes. In the mean while, would you like some refreshments?"

"Oh yes that would be lovely," she replied.

I then walked off with Luna scurrying behind me.

"We have no more models available to do the photo shoot," one of our assistants said. "You have a plan right?"

"Yup don't worry, just get our client some tea and some sandwiches and cakes," I told her.

"So what's the plan?" Luna asked me when we were at my office.

"I don't know," I told her honestly. I picked up the telephone and started to dial. "Hey Danny, Cagalli here. Listen, do you have any boys available now?" I asked hoping. "We've got a major client here." It was a while before he replied. It wasn't good news. "It's ok. Thanks anyway."

"What now?" Luna asked.

Just then, something caught my eye. No, someone. A young man was carrying a heavy looking box on his shoulders. His well built muscles were flexing. I could also see his eight packs from his fitted white shirt.

"Hey you!" I dashed out of my office to catch him. He heard me. He turned around confused. "What's your name?"

"Brandon, Miss" he replied.

"Great! From this moment on, you're working as a model for us."

He looked at me shock. Luna too.

"Get him some papers," I told Luna. She came back soon afterwards. "Just sign here and here and here," I told him. He quickly did as I said as I dragged him off to the room to meet our unhappy client.

"What do you think of him? He's our latest addition," I told our client Victoria.

"Cagalli, I'm shocked that the agency didn't show him to us earlier. We could have skipped all the unpleasantness," Victoria said to me.

"Well, he's rather inexperienced. You'll be his first major photo shoot."

"You don't have to worry about that dear, we can fix him."

"That's good to know..."

"Of course darling! And if you have nothing else, we'll be leaving now. We've wasted so much time already."

The minute Victoria and her army of assistants left, Luna hugged me from behind and squealed, "Oh my gosh! You're a genius Cagalli! You totally saved my butt! I thought I was toast!"

"Well I've got more good news for you Luna. Natarle's sending you to Milan for the fashion show."

"No way! Are you serious!"

"Yes, I'm not lying."

"Oh my gosh! But why? I thought you always get to go?"

"I can't, I've got a brother now to take care of..."

"Oh right... I forgot..."

**... ... ...**

It was in the early evening when I home. Kira was in front of me the moment I opened the door. It was as if he was waiting for me.

"It's about time you come home," Mu greeted me. He didn't look particularly happy.

"Thanks for taking care of Kira," I gave him a small smile.

"It's not as if I had much of a choice," he replied.

"That's why you have to come for breakfast tomorrow morning so that I can make it up to you!" I happily suggested.

"By breakfast you mean ice cream?" he asked.

"No of course not! Breakfast as in pancakes and sausages and eggs."

"Well..."

"I insist!"

Mu agreed, not seeing my other plot to make use of him and make him take care of Kira for one more day. Score one for Cagalli! All I had to do next was to order McDonald's breakfast delivery the next day.

Just then, my hand phone rang, breaking my thoughts away.

"Miss Athha, this is your housing agent, Asagi speaking. I have found you a place..."

**... ... ...**

I pulled over my car on the drive way. Orb Planes, our new home, was a forty-five minute drive away from the city. Thank goodness for the weekend. I didn't have to take leave just to move house. Mu wasn't exactly very happy with me. After all, I had conned him to take care of Kira for another day.

The delivery trucks reached ahead of us and started moving some furniture in already. I opened the trunk of my car and started unloading the heavy boxes and suitcases. Kira tried to help but he ended up dropping one of the boxes.

"Hey, do you need some help?"

I turned around to find a gorgeous young man with midnight blue hair and emerald green eyes smiling at us, offering his aid.

Tell me, who could resist?

**To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Dear diary,_

_I drove past to see our new home in Orb Planes earlier today after work. It turned out that it wasn't some nasty old cottage in the middle of nowhere (thank Haumea). Our place actually has a deck and a lawn (we can have cute little tea parties there!). And the previous owner, whoever she was, loved flowers. The garden was filled with roses, lilies... you name it, it has it! I think Kira would like it. It has a nice homely feel to it. Not that my current penthouse didn't have that feeling. The new place just feels different. And one good thing about that place was that it has a large walk-in closet, meaning I didn't have to waste energy to get one built. We're moving in tomorrow. Oh and I forgot to tell you. I found a school for Kira (finally). It's near our new place. Well, I better start packing. I'll continue again next time._

_Yours truly,_

_Cagalli_

**... ... ...**

Chapter 3

"Hey, do you need some help?"

I turned around to find a gorgeous young man with midnight blue hair and emerald green eyes smiling at us, offering his aid.

Tell me, who could resist?

Wait, what did I just say? Gorgeous? Gosh, I wanted to slap myself. I've been here only two seconds and I was checking out the first guy I saw. Geez Cagalli! Where was your control?

"I'm Athrun, I live across the street," he said as he stretched his hand out for me to shake but he quickly pulled it back when he realised that my hands were full. His face had a little red stain.

Gosh, he looked even cuter when he blushed! And he was our neighbour! I was going to see him everyday! Wait, back track a bit. Grab a hold of yourself Cagalli. You're acting like a teenager, getting all worked up over some random hot guy. Oh wait, I think I was supposed to speak. Go on and introduce yourself Cagalli.

"I'm Cagalli," I gave my most charming smile. "And this is my brother Kira," I referred Athrun to the little boy who was hiding behind me.

"He's a shy one isn't he?" Athrun gave a small smile.

"Yea. And quiet too. You'd expect my pet goldfish to talk more than he does."

Athrun chuckled. "So how can I help?" he asked.

"Well you can help me bring these boxes inside," I suggested.

Athrun was the perfect gentleman. He purposely chose the heavier boxes to carry so that I and Kira wouldn't have to break our backs over them.

I placed Goldie's empty bowl on top of the side table in the living room before filling it with water. I then went back to the car to retrieve the plastic bag with my goldfish in it.

Just then, a familiar yellow Volkswagen Beetle stopped right in front of the house. It was Shiho's car. Both she and Meyrin had come.

"Shiho! You're back!"

"Yup. Came straight from the airport too."

"Aww, you shouldn't have!"

"Well, I figured you'll be needing help to unpack. So here we are!"

"I get first dips in Cagalli's wardrobe! I'm unpacking the clothes!" Meyrin quickly said.

"Ha! So you can steal some of her clothes later!" Shiho retorted.

"It's called borrowing! Besides, Cagalli doesn't mind," Meyrin pouted.

I laughed at my two friends. They always loved to bicker amongst themselves. I brought them inside.

"Cagalli, shall I bring these boxes upstairs?" Athrun asked.

"Umm, yea sure. Thanks!" I said.

I looked at Shiho's and Meyrin's faces.

"Cagalli! Who is he?" Shiho demanded when Athrun was out of sight.

"Oh he's just Athrun, he lives next door," I replied matter-of-factly.

"_Just _Athrun?" Shiho asked incredulous.

"You have one hell of a hot neighbour!" Meyrin practically shouted. I hoped Athrun didn't hear her.

"Hands off Mey," Shiho said. "He's out of bounds. He's Cagalli's."

"He is?" Meyrin looked at me.

"Hey, I never said that," I told them.

Meyrin had a wide grin plastered on her face. "Alright! I'm going upstairs now!" she squealed as she dashed up the stairs.

"You've just gotten yourself another permanent resident living in this house," Shiho said to me.

**... ... ...**

It was around six in the early evening. I was deciding whether to order Chinese or pizza delivery for dinner. I was alone with Kira in the house. Shiho and Meyrin left not too long ago. Athrun had left way earlier. I guessed Meyrin must have scared the daylights off him. Just then, the doorbell rang. I opened the front door only to be greeted by a pleasant surprise. What did I know? The whole neighbourhood came to welcome me.

There was an auburn coloured hair girl carrying a giant bowl of salad, a blonde girl who looked a lot like me carrying a large plate of pasta, a red head carrying a bottle of wine and finally, a younger girl with mahogany coloured hair carrying a pound of cheesecake. What did I know? I have a three course dinner being served at my doorstep. Which person in the right mind would refuse? I invited them all in and called Kira down.

"He's so cute!" Mayu, the youngest girl here who brought the cheesecake squealed. Kira looked absolutely intimidated as Mayu and the blonde girl named Stella hovered over him. I guessed I found my future babysitters.

Miriallia or Milly as she preferred it, the older brunette, was a photographer slash journalist. I actually recognised Flay, the red head. She was in the fashion/model industry like me. Her father was a senator of the Atlantic Federation. I would see her when I was younger during the parties politicians throw. I wondered what she was here doing in Orb.

Meyrin came back to my house again not long after my other guests left. She wanted to go clubbing. I was hesitant at first. I mean, I didn't know what to do with Kira. Should I take him with us?

"Come on Cagalli! My taxi meter is already sky rocketing high!" Meyrin said. "Just take Kira with us if you're worried. You're Cagalli Yula Athha! I'm sure you can get him in somehow!"

Meyrin was right. I knew the owner of _Club Duel_. Yzak raised his eye brows at me and I smiled innocently back at him.

"Alright! Fine!" Yzak practically growled at me. "Just make sure he behaves."

And with that, I got Kira in. Yzak went back to his secluded corner in the club and continued sulking. I brought Kira to him.

"Watch him for a while will you?" I shoved Kira into his arms and left before he could protest.

I hid nearby to watch the both of them for a while just to be safe. Yzak placed his hands across his chest as he stared at Kira. Kira also stared back. I wondered why Kira didn't whimper away. It was kinda interesting. Finally, Yzak sighed and ruffled Kira's hair.

"Knock yourself out," he said as he passed a packet of chips to Kira.

I walked back to Meyrin. There was someone sitting beside her at the booth. The person wore giant dark shades and a large brown trench coat. Underneath the floral scarf she wrapped around her head, I recognised the brown banks.

"Shiho!" I exclaimed. Before I knew it, I was pulled inside the booth.

"Shh!" she hushed me as she started looking around suspiciously.

"How the hell did you get in here with that hideous outfit?" I asked her.

"More importantly, why are you dressed like that? Have you lost it?" Meyrin said.

Shiho looked around again. Then she said in a low quiet voice. "He's here."

"Who's here?" I and Meyrin asked at the same time.

"Shh! Lower your volume!" Shiho hissed before glancing around again.

"Who's here?" we whispered this time.

"The guy I'm _forced_ to marry!" Shiho whispered back.

"Where?" we shouted again.

"Shh! Quiet! Do you want me to get caught?"

"Oops sorry," we said softer. "Where is he?"

"I don't know."

"Ok, how does he look like then?"

"I don't know."

"How do you know he's here then?" Meyrin asked.

"Sources," Shiho whispered.

"Does he know how you look like?" I asked.

"I don't think so."

You've got to be kidding me. Shiho was paranoid. She went through such extremes just to hide from someone who didn't know how she looked like. She didn't even know how _he _looked like.

"Oh my gosh!" Shiho nearly choked on her drink. "A guy is on this way! We have to leave now!"

"How do you know it's him? I thought you don't know how he looks like," Meyrin asked.

"I don't! But that _could _be him! It's better to be safe than sorry!" she said.

Meyrin and I walked out of the club with Shiho crouching beside us, using us as a human shield.

I reached home at two am. I felt really funny. I had a lingering feeling that I forgot something. Or _someone._ I choked on the water I was drinking. I had forgotten Kira! I left him in the club! Yzak would kill me if he hadn't burst a vein yet from being so mad.

I checked my phone. I had twenty-two missed calls and nine messages. It was a wonder how my phone hadn't been drained out of battery yet.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" Yzak yelled at me.

I wondered when I would turn deaf. Yzak was screaming about me leaving Kira with him and how he nearly went mad when Kira started crying. Kira on the other hand was in hysterics. He was sobbing non-stop in my arms on how he thought I had abandoned him to a grouchy old man. And I thought both of them got along pretty well.

**... ... ...**

I got up pretty early on a normal Sunday. It was twelve noon, just in time for lunch. Kira was still sleeping. He had slept with me on my bed, refusing to sleep in his. He probably wanted to make sure I was beside him and never leaving him.

I went down to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was empty. I forgot that we had just moved in yesterday. We haven't gone grocery shopping. I would need to stock up on my ice cream.

"Cagalli?" I heard Kira calling me.

"I'm in the kitchen!" I shouted back immediately. If I didn't respond, he might think I left him.

There was a sign of relief on his face when he saw me. "What's for breakfast?" he asked.

"You mean what's for lunch," I corrected him.

He blushed. "Err what's for lunch?" he stammered.

"Umm... We have nothing here. We'll have to go grocery shopping. Why don't you get dressed? We'll have our lunch outside too."

A little while later, he was dressed. He wore a polo tee and khaki pants. I wore my usual, blank tank top and skinny jeans, complete with a pair of heels. I decided to have lunch at _Andy's. _It was _the _best place for kebabs, though most people would go there for the coffee.

"Hey Cagalli," Andrew, the owner greeted me. Andrew was Aisha's husband. "Kebabs for two?" he asked.

"Yup, and don't you dare put yogurt sauce in my kebabs," I threatened.

"Yea yea. Chilli sauce. I got it," he chuckled.

We didn't have to wait long. Being his long time favourite customers, not to mention friends, we get priority.

"I thought I said no yogurt," I said when I saw the awful white sauce on my kebabs.

"This one is for the little guy," he winked as he passed the plate to Kira. "The kid here has to try the real thing." He then handed mine with chilli sauce.

"Kira, try the chilli sauce," I told Kira as I gave him a slice of my kebabs.

"Kid, tell this crazy woman here the truth," Andrew pretended to look serious. "Yogurt sauce is better."

Kira looked at me, and then back at Andrew. He swallowed his food before answering. "I like the chilli sauce better," he said in a small voice.

Yes! Score one for Cagalli! I looked at Andrew with a triumphant smile.

"He's just scared of you," Andrew ruffled Kira's head. "Aren't you kid?"

Kira looked back at me. I could tell he was uncomfortable.

"Alright Mr Waltfield, stop terrorising my brother," I scolded him.

"I thought you were the terrorist," he joked before leaving us.

We finished our food before heading to the grocery store. Shiho met us there, also having to do her own marketing.

We each took a trolley and went through the aisles one by one. Shiho was throwing everything she saw into_ my_ trolley.

"I don't need that, I don't bake," I told her pointing to the packet of flour she threw inside _my _cart. "And I don't need all these either," I pointed to all the other random stuff she placed inside.

"Didn't you get my email?" she snapped back at me.

I checked my blackberry and went online. Sure enough in my inbox, was a pdf file entitled 'Kitchen Guide for Beginners.' Below it said 'a step-by-step idiot-proof guide for kitchen retards'.

Oh, how nice of Shiho. I raised my eye brows at her.

"It tells you how to manage your kitchen," Shiho told me. "I've read it already and you need all these to have a complete kitchen. You need to feed Kira right. He's a growing boy and he can't possibly get all the nutrients from the junk you've been feeding him."

Just then, we heard a cry and we snapped our heads to the side. Kira was down on the floor with two other children his age beside him. It looked as if he had been pushed to the ground by them. Just as I was about to run to him and scream at the other two mean boys for bullying my little brother, a familar bluenette rushed to him. The two boys ran away, cowards as they were, when Athrun came over.

"Kira!" I ran to them. "Are you alright?" I asked.

Kira merely nodded his head and I turned to Athrun.

"Thanks for helping him Athrun," I said.

Athrun gave a small smile and just as he was about to say something, Shiho called me and rushed over with two trolleys.

"Hey Athrun," she greeted. "Doing grocery shopping?" she asked.

"Yea," he replied.

"Great!" Shiho exclaimed. "Then you can help Cagalli do hers! She's domestically challenged."

I glared at Shiho. She made me sound like an idiot infront of Athrun.

"I need to go now so I can't help her anymore," Shiho continued. "And I'll really appreciate it if you can drop in on her from time to time, since you're neighbours and all. You have to make sure she doesn't blow up the house..."

"Alright Shiho, he gets the point, no I mean I get the point," I cut her off as I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a tight squeeze. Knowing Shiho if I didn't stop her, she would reveal to Athrun all the embarrassing incidents in my life.

Athrun chuckled.

"Ok fine," Shiho said as she pushed my trolley to me. "I'll be leaving now."

After Shiho left, I turned to Athrun and said, "Just ignore Shiho. I can shop by myself, you don't have to worry."

He gave me a gentle smile. "No it's alright. We can do our groceries together."

And off we went, side by side with Kira in the middle. I revealed to Athrun about how I had gotten Kira less than a week ago. Athrun told me that he lived by himself, his parents were off traveling around the word.

"So Kira, what's your favourite food?" Athrun asked.

The boy was quiet for a while. He then looked up at Athrun. "I don't know," he said quietly.

Athrun decided to ask something else, "What do you eat for breakfast?"

At this, Kira smiled. "Ice cream."

Oh crap! I was caught! Athrun now knew what a lousy guardian I was.

Athrun raised a brow at me and I shrugged.

"You like ice cream a lot huh," he ruffled Kira's hair.

Kira meekly nodded.

"You don't get to eat a lot of it last time do you?"

"Once every few months, if we're good, Mrs McPhee will get some for us."

Sweet Haumea. This kid was deprived! I practically lived on ice cream. It cools my nerves down.

"Do you like waffles?" Athrun asked.

"I've never had any before."

"Ice cream's good with waffles. Brownies too," he said.

That did it for me. I've got to at least make sure he tried the good food in life.

We reached home just in time for people to start cooking dinner, which I didn't because I couldn't cook in the first place. Athrun drove back in his black _Lamborghini_. I wondered just how rich was he.

Before Athrun drove into his driveway, he stopped by and asked me what I was planning for dinner. I said pizza delivery. He laughed and then told me to come over to his place for dinner. He said he would cook.

I agreed of course and me and Kira made our way early to help him prepare dinner.

I brought salad- the kind placed in vacuum packs which could just be tossed into a bowl and eaten directly with some dressing. You didn't even have to wash it.

The aroma of roasted spring chicken baking in the oven was good. I had tried to help earlier by chopping up some garlic but I ended up nearly chopping my fingers off. In the end, I just sat by the kitchen stool and watched Athrun as he cooked. Kira stood beside Athrun and watched him too. Kira seemed fascinated. I thought about getting Kira to cook when he was older.

It wasn't that bad I guess. Life here in the suburbs I mean. I've been here two days and people had made dinner for me. The neighbours here are good people. And I'm not just talking about Athrun.

I learnt a lesson too after having to take care of Kira:

Never leave and forget your children in a club especially if you placed them under a grouchy Yzak's care.

**To be continued.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Dear diary,_

_Athrun made dinner for us just now. He's a really good cook. Cagalli said I'm going to start school tomorrow. She's going to talk to me again later. I've never been to school before. _He_ never sent me. In the orphanage, it was Mrs McPhee who taught us the ABC and how to count. I've heard about school though. I've heard the older orphanage kids talk about it before. They said we'll learn a lot of stuff. And when we learn enough, we'll get jobs. I want to buy something nice for Cagalli once I earn enough money. I want to make her happy._

_Kira_

**... ... ...**

Chapter 4

"Kira, it's time to wake up now," I heard Cagalli's voice. I opened my eyes and I saw her darting across the room. She looked flustered as she grabbed some of my clothes from the closet and threw them at the foot of the bed. She then made her way to the mirror, combing her hair. "Kira, you have to hurry. We're going to be late."

I quickly got up, afraid to make her mad and want to leave me. I hurried to the bath room to take a shower, pressing the buttons Cagalli taught me to get the water running. I was always fascinated with the shower; it was as if it was raining indoors. Water would magically fall from the ceiling when I pressed a button. It was unlike bath time in the orphanage where we only get one pail of water.

I tried my best to dress quickly. Cagalli was already at the front door waiting for me. I guessed there was no time for breakfast.

It wasn't long before Cagalli and I stood in front of a building made of bricks. We walked into a long hall way. Cagalli was looking for something. She was mumbling before she finally exclaimed, "Ah, there it is!" She brought me to the door and knocked.

A lady with light brown hair, almost blonde, greeted us.

"Hi, I'm Cagalli Yula Athha. And this is Kira," Cagalli introduced.

"Oh yes of course. I'm Talia Gladys. We spoke on the phone the other day. I'm happy to have Kira join us," she smiled at me kindly.

"Well thank you for taking him in at such short notice."

"It's no problem at all Miss Athha. Lunar Prep is lucky to have such a handsome boy."

Cagalli looked at me. This was the cue that she was going to head off to work. I had to stay behind, I couldn't follow her. She would come back for me later. We already talked about this last night.

"Hey," she kneeled down to my level as she tilted my chin to look at her. "We already made a pinky promise remember? I'm coming back for you."

I bit my lips hard as I tried hard not to cry. No matter how many times Cagalli assured me she would never abandon me, that fear still always lingered.

Cagalli gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before she left. It was the first time she kissed me, the first time I've actually ever been kissed before. I used to envy those kids who were kissed by their parents. I wanted kisses too. Now I have gotten it. And I never want to wash my face again.

Miss Gladys brought me inside the room. There were many children my age wearing similar clothing. The boys wore shorts and a knitted vest over a white shirt like me, while the girls wore a skirt instead of shorts. There were all seated in groups around the tables.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Kira."

I didn't really feel very comfortable with all weird looks the kids were giving me. I took the only empty seat right at the back. I was going to keep to myself, just like I did at the orphanage.

It was art class and Miss Gladys left us to draw anything we liked. There were crayons on the table and I took the red one. Red was Cagalli's favourite colour, so I made it my favourite colour too.

Kids were suddenly gathering around the round table next to mine. They all seemed excited over something.

"Wow! Isn't that the latest set they displayed outside the store?"

"That's so cool! There are so many colours!"

"You're so lucky! I wish my dad would buy them for me too!"

I watched as the others squealed over the box of colour pencils. There were over a hundred of them, all different colours.

"Alright, I'll let some of you guys use them," the owner of the colour pencils said. "Now which of you guys should I pick?"

"Oh me! Me! Pick me!" the other kids said.

"Setsuna, Rika, you both can use them."

"Yay! Thanks Jona! You're the best!"

"Can I use them too, Jona?" asked a boy with curly hair.

"You?" Jona exclaimed. "Eww! Of course not! Why would I lend someone like you? You fuzzy wuzzy lumpkin!"

The surrounding students started bursting into fits of laughter.

"Ignore him Kuzzey," a boy with glasses said. "Jona's just being a bully, that's all."

"Oh! Four-eyed freak is coming to lumpkin's rescue!"

The rest laughed even louder. I took an instant dislike to Jona. He reminded me of some of the mean kids back in the orphanage. Deciding that I heard enough, I switched my mind off and continued drawing.

**... ... ...**

It was break time, they called it recess. We were all dismissed and let out into the garden. I chose to sit under the tree furthest from where all the other kids sat. They all came prepared with food of their own. I didn't bring anything. My stomach growled and grumbled. It has been doing so since we left the house. The feeling of hunger wasn't unfamiliar to me. I used to get one meal a day when I was with _him. _Two, when _he_ was in a good mood.

I hugged my knees closer to myself. I wondered when Cagalli was coming for me. I could ask her for something to eat.

"Whacha doing?"

I looked up to see a girl with long pink hair watching at me.

"What food did you bring?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing," I replied only out of what Mrs McPhee called as courtesy. I would have otherwise preferred to ignore the girl.

"You didn't bring any food?" she seemed genuinely surprised.

"No."

"I brought nutella," she said as she sat herself next to me and opened her lunch box. "Let's share!" she said as she gave me half of her sandwich.

I hesitated for a while. I was unsure of whether to take it. Why was she being so nice to me? Why didn't she avoid me like the others? I accepted it in the end after the continuous protest from my stomach.

"I'm Lacus by the way!"

I didn't say anything back. The sandwich was good. The filling was brown and gooey, but sweet. It tasted like chocolate. The girl mentioned that it was nut-la?

"What's your name?" she seemed rather insistent that I talk to her.

"Kira," I finally told her.

"You don't talk very much do you?" she giggled.

**... ... ...**

_Dear diary,_

_Kira's starting school tomorrow. I just had a long talk with him. I had to make sure he understood what's going to happen tomorrow. I was worried that he might go on hysterics. It would be a new environment for him. There would be strangers... And we all know how he responded to strangers taking care of him. But then again, it was Yzak, so I suppose that time doesn't count. It's a bad idea to let Mr Grouch take care of kids. I learnt that the hard way. Paying for Yzak's therapy, that's was just the easy part. It's putting up with his temper subsequently and convincing him to let Kira into his club again is the harder part. I'm thinking of a million ways on how to go about it now. Bribing him won't work... Blackmailing and threatening sounds really appealing... But it might actually just work. Alright! I've made up my mind!_

_Yours truly,_

_Cagalli_

**... ... ...**

I cursed for the millionth time that morning as I was again forced to stop by the traffic light. Oh why oh why was Haumea against me? It seemed to me that I was caught by all the freaking lights in the city. Even if my convertible could go 329 km/h, I would still not reach work on time.

Green.

I slammed my feet hard on the accelerator. I wondered how many speeding tickets I would get as I sped through the roads. I even forwent my daily latte booze. The vending machine would do this time round.

Natarle had a clear disapproval look as she spotted me trying to creep into the meeting room. She was briefing everyone about the plans for the upcoming fashion week. I sat myself beside Luna as I tried my best to ignore Natarle's accusing glare. I could almost hear her voice inside my head saying, "You're late!"

After what seemed like hours, the meeting ended and Natarle finally dismissed us to get back to our work. I had a lunch meeting to attend with one of our clients. We made reservations at the newly opened cafe called _Blitz. _I heard the food there was exquisite. Speaking of food, my mind wondered back to Kira. We were in such a rush this morning that we did not have time for breakfast.

I looked at my watch. It was already noon. Kira must have eaten already. Recess was long over. I wondered what he ate. The school severed pasta on Tuesdays... Pork or chicken chops on Wednesdays... Fried rice or noodles on Thursdays... Pizza or burgers on Fridays... Now what did they serve on Mondays?

Oh crap.

It's Monday. Monday was Bring-Your-Own-Food-Day. What the hell was that? I mean, whoever thought of that must be a fruitcake or something. As if we had all the time in the world to make something for children to bring.

Double crap. I didn't make anything for Kira. The poor boy must be starving now. I could almost see myself behind bars wearing the hideous orange prison uniform. Social Service was going to jail me for neglection!

"Hey, gotta go! Be back real soon!" I shouted over to Luna as I made a dash for the elevator. There was a convenience store across the road.

I grabbed a sushi pack and a bottle of orange juice from the cooler.

The queue was insanely long. I had half a mind to just run off without paying.

"Next!"

Finally it was my turn.

**... ... ...**

I reached school in an hour. My luck was all the way down at pit bottom. I was caught in a traffic jam. Literally. The cars weren't even crawling. They had altogether just stopped moving. Some accident happened to take all three lanes of the road.

I fumbled inside my large bag, looking for my Blackberry that had just gotten lost somewhere in the depths of all the junk I had stuffed inside. I had to check what time my lunch meeting was again. I didn't take notice of what was in front of me until it was too late and I had crashed right into it- or him would be a better word.

Strong hands held me to keep me steady on my feet. I looked up at my saviour.

"Cagalli?"

"Athrun?" I prayed hard that I didn't just squeak out his name. He looked surprised to see me.

"What are you doing here?" we asked at the same time.

I thought I saw a tinge of red on his cheeks.

"I-I work here," he said. "What about you?"

"Oh me? Nothing much. Just stopped by because I'm such a terrible guardian. I forgot that it's Bring-Your-Own-Food-Day today."

Shit. Did I just say that out loud?

Athrun chuckled. Damn, I must have said it out loud.

"So Kira's studying here?"

"Yea... You said you work here right?"

"I'm an English and literature teacher here."

So Athrun's a teacher... I didn't know teachers were paid so well. He owns a Lamborghini.

"Well umm I better go and find Kira. To err... Deliver his food..."

"Do you need help finding your way?"

"Err, I think I can manage. Thanks for asking," I smiled at him.

We said our goodbyes and thank Haumea I didn't get lost afterwards. It would have been such an embarrassment for me otherwise.

I felt really guilty about Kira. The poor boy looked five kilos lighter. Alright, I was just exaggerating. He looked fine. In fact, his face brightened up when he saw me.

"Are we going home now?"

"Sorry buddy, but school's not over yet. I only came back to deliver your lunch. I'm really sorry I forgot."

His face fell immediately and I bit my lip. So he really did think he was going home.

"I brought sushi!" I tried my best to sound cheerful.

He didn't reply. His gaze was cast onto the floor.

"Hey, you're not mad at me are you?" I asked.

Kira quickly shook his head.

"I'll see you later ok?"

He finally made eye contact with me. He still looked really sad.

"Go back to your class now and be good alright?"

**... ... ...**

I was late for my lunch appointment again. I had no idea what was up with me and traffic jams today. Kate, our client, waited ten minutes for me. She wasn't mad. But Natarle was there and let's just say that if looks could kill, I would be lying in a coffin now.

The meeting with Kate took quite a while. Kate was the editor-in-chief of _Rouge_, one of the top fashion magazines in the world. She was picky in choosing models for photo-shoots. She wasn't fond of the skinny ones.

Work wasn't any better when I came back to the office. I had a truck load of files to oversee. I slotted in some coins in the vending machine. I needed some coffee boost to last me the afternoon.

_Three o'clock..._

_Three thirty..._

_Four o'clock..._

_Four thirty..._

_Five o'clock..._

_Six o'clock..._

It was eleven minutes past six when my phone rang. It was an unknown number. I answered it anyway.

"Cagalli?" the voice on the other line sounded really familiar.

"Hey it's me, Athrun."

"Oh what's up Athrun?" I asked. When did I give Athrun my number? Or more importantly, why was he calling?

"Umm... Are you coming to pick Kira up any time soon? The kid's been waiting for quite a while now."

"Shit."

"I'm sorry? What did you say?"

Crap. Oh crap. How could I forget about Kira _again_? If there seriously was an award for being the worst guardian ever, I would easily take first place. I was supposed to fetch Kira at four. It was six now. And did I just say 'shit' to Athrun?

"Cagalli?"

"Hmm? Oh, yea."

"Listen, if you're a little busy now, I can take Kira back to my place first."

"Really? I mean, you don't mind?"

"Yea, don't worry. It's no problem at all. What are neighbours for?"

_What are neighbours for? _It's official. I would nominate Athrun for the best neighbour award. And me, I would nominate myself for the worst guardian award.

**To be continued.**

**A/N: Hey sorry for the long wait everyone! I hope you guys haven't given up on my story. I have more bad news. My next update could be in a few months (Latest December! I promise!). This is because I'm in my final year and I have to study really hard for my final exam to get into university. I'll see if I have free time to write in between but no guarantees! But I promise (you can throw rotten eggs at me otherwise), I'll be update in December! Sorry again for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will appreciate if you can tell me what you think of this story and/or this chapter. Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Dear diary,_

_I forgot about Kira AGAIN! Can you believe it? I was so busy at work that I actually forgot to fetch him from school. The poor boy was probably waiting for me for hours! And the worst part was having Athrun to remind me that I had forgotten to pick Kira up. It was as if I didn't get enough humiliation in front of Athrun already for the day – I forgot that it was Bring-Your-Own-Food-Day today and he caught me delivering Kira's lunch late. It was terrible! He must think so horribly of me! Anyway, Athrun was really nice – he's an angel in disguise I'm telling you! He took Kira home for me and even made dinner for us AGAIN! I told Shiho and Meyrin about this earlier during the three-way-phone-conversation we always have. They're coming over tomorrow night. They wanted to go clubbing but since I couldn't come with them, they decided to come over instead. Just two weeks ago, I would probably be partying at this time. It's kind of hard to believe that everything has changed now._

_Yours truly,_

_Cagalli_

**oOo**

Chapter 5

I woke up extra early today. I couldn't afford to be late for work again. I woke Kira up after I had gotten myself ready. He was a good boy. He took his uniform and went straight to the bathroom after I told him to. I could hardly imagine what would happen had I got one of those bratty kids for a sibling. I think I would just go bonkers.

Heading to the kitchen, I began spreading some peanut butter and jam onto some bread. Out of habit, I trimmed of the edges of the sandwich. There was still plenty of time left after Kira was all dressed up. I got him to eat a bowl of cereals. It was one of those organic wheat ones; very healthy.

We reached Lunar Prep just as all the other kids started arriving. I found a parking slot and walked with Kira to the maroon bricked building. I decided to walk Kira to his class just until he knew his way around.

Just as we crossed the road to the front of the building, a shiny black Rolls-Royce stopped right in front of us. A large man wearing black shades got down from the front seat and walked to the back to open the door.

I wondered who the VIP was. Well, it turned out to be some munchkin with lilac coloured hair. Merely dismissing him, I directed Kira into the building.

Miss Gladys was waiting at the door, greeting the children as they entered her class.

"Good morning Kira," Miss Gladys smiled at him.

As usual, our shy little boy failed to greet back. Sighing inwardly, I gave Kira a light nudge.

"Good morning Miss Gladys," he mumbled instead.

Miss Gladys gave me an understanding smile before she continued greeting the other children who came along.

"Oh, I nearly forgot!" I exclaimed as I ravaged through my bag for the brown paper bag. "Lunch is provided but I made something just in case you get hungry later," I told Kira as I handed him the sandwich. "I'll see you later," I added before ushering him to class.

I looked at the time on my Blackberry before striding off to my car. I should make it to work on time unless I was so unfortunate to meet with a major jam.

I made it just in the nick of time for work. I entered the office just as Natarle was about to leave. She was meeting Joeann for breakfast and I was to go with her.

Joeann was a super model and she was the latest addition to our clientele. She was widely sought after by many agencies but through Natarle's connections, we were able to sign a contract with her first.

I was left to send Joeann to her photo-shoot after breakfast when Natarle had to leave for another meeting.

We were already on our way to the set when Joeann suddenly asked the limo to stop for a moment. I got down with her and to my surprise, she walked straight into the book store and made her way to the stationary section.

"Sorry," she told me apologetically. "I've got a five year old nephew and he really wanted to get these," she explained as she held out a large box of colour pencils. "It's apparently the latest craze of kids these days."

Well, Kira's about six, I think. But I figured he would like the set of colour pencils too.

"I've got a younger brother," I said to her as I took a set of my own and made my way with her to the cashier.

I couldn't wait to surprise Kira tonight. I think he would be very happy.

I had managed to leave work early today and I headed straight for school. School was going to end soon. I parked my car and waited outside the building together with all the other parents. The black Rolls-Royce I saw in the morning was also at the same spot it occupied.

The school bell finally rang and I saw a swarm of children dashing out like a herd of stampeding Rhinos. It was a scary sight, really. At last, after another five minutes, Kira had emerged. And there was a girl with bright pink hair trailing behind him. There was a smile on her face as she chatted with Kira. Well actually, it seemed more like a one sided conversation as Kira seemed to be ignoring her.

I waved towards them and Kira caught sight of me. Kira smiled at me before making a dash towards me, leaving the poor girl behind.

"Hey Kira, wait for me!" I heard her say.

I caught Kira and bent down to give him a hug. "Hey buddy, you shouldn't leave your friend behind," I chided him lightly.

Kira turned behind and the girl stopped in front of us. She was panting and her hair was in a slight disarray.

"Oh hello!" she said brightly to me. "You must be Kira's sister! Cagalli right?"

"Err, yes. And you are?"

"I'm Lacus," she gushed. "You're really pretty."

"Thanks," I laughed a bit. A little girl was telling me that I was pretty. "You're very pretty too, you know," I decided to return her the compliment.

"Really? Do you really think so?" she looked at me with her large innocent blue eyes.

"Yes of course," I smiled at her.

"I really like you Cagalli. I wish I have a sister like you."

I really wanted to laugh. I was a terrible sister. The girl wouldn't have said that if she knew.

"Do you have siblings, Lacus?"

"No, though I sometimes wish I do. It gets kind of lonely."

"You're always welcome to come over to our place, you know," I found myself telling her. "I'll be very happy to have you over."

"Do you mean that?" she perked up.

"Uh-huh," I nodded my head.

"Let's go!" Kira had cut in suddenly as he grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I was a bit confused by his behaviour but I followed him anyway.

"It's nice to meet you Cagalli! See you tomorrow Kira!" the little girl called after us. I turned my head to see her waving excitedly at us. If any, Kira had just walked away faster.

**oOo**

_Dear diary,_

_I started school today. I met a girl who wouldn't stop talking. I ignored her but she still wouldn't stop talking to me. She has pink hair and it's the colour of the candy floss Cagalli bought for me last time. She shared her food with me but I still think she's weird. And it was Athrun who brought me home from school today. Cagalli was busy with work and couldn't make it._

_Kira_

**oOo**

It's my second day of school today. Cagalli woke me up earlier so I had time to eat breakfast.

School was not as fun as Mwu said it to be. I rather stay at home with Cagalli. I knew it was silly but I was still afraid that Cagalli would just leave me in school and never come back for me.

Just as we got off the car, I quickly rushed over to Cagalli's side and held her hand. Instead of shrugging my hand off, she just smiled back at me and allowed me to hold her hand.

Miss Gladys was standing outside the door. She was smiling at us as we approached her.

"Good morning Kira," she said to me.

I looked at her and her smile only became bigger as she flashed some of her pearl white teeth. I felt a light push and I looked at Cagalli who was looking back at me expectantly. I guessed it was time for me to go into class.

I cast a quick glance at Miss Gladys before muttering a good morning to her and walking into class.

We were taught how to add and subtract during maths today. Out of ten questions, I got nine correct. Miss Gladys placed a star on my worksheet. She said I did very well and that Cagalli was going to be very proud of me. I hope she's right. I didn't want Cagalli to be disappointed with me.

During recess, we stayed behind in class and Miss Gladys distributed us plates of pasta each. We were told to finish our food before we could go out and play.

"Hi Kira!"

It was that weird girl again from yesterday. I ignored her and continued eating the pasta. However, her smile only got bigger as she excitedly dragged her chair and arranged it next to mine.

"How's the food? Do you like it?" When I didn't reply her, she just continued talking. "My daddy got me a parrot for my birthday. He's pink in colour. Pink is my favourite colour you know. What's yours?"

"Red," I replied her without thinking.

That only got her to talk more excitedly.

"I named my parrot Mr Pink. I'm teaching him how to talk now. He's really smart and he can say 'hello'," she paused for a while, putting a spoon full of pasta into her mouth. "Do you have a pet, Kira?"

"No, but Cagalli has."

"Really? Who's Cagalli?" she asked curious.

"My sister," I replied proudly.

"Well what pet does she have?"

"A goldfish."

"That's nice! I used to have a pet fish at home too but my cousin's cat ate it," at this, her face fell. "I was really sad and I cried for days. But daddy bought me Mr Pink afterwards on my birthday." The girl was weird. Her face lit up again almost immediately after she mentioned her parrot. "What did your sister name the fish?"

"Goldie."

"That's a nice name. I like it," she said and she continued her non-stop chatter afterwards. I wasn't really listening to her though. She talked too much. "Jona's awfully quiet today," she suddenly commented.

I looked to where Jona was seated with his friends. His head was resting on the table and he looked as if he was dreaming.

"Hey, what's wrong with Jona?" asked a boy.

"He saw some girl today apparently," replied one of his friends.

"She's not just a girl!" Jona suddenly snapped. "She's a princess and I'm going to marry her."

His friends started laughing at him.

"How does she look like?" asked one of them in between fits of laughter.

"She's the prettiest girl in this world," Jona merely ignored his friends who were poking fun at him. "Her hair is golden blonde and her eyes... You should have seen her eyes... They were amber..."

His friends continued snickering. "He's lost it," they laughed.

It was finally the end of school. Everyone rushed out of class the moment Miss Gladys dismissed us.

I wondered if Cagalli was going to be late again. I quickly packed my bag. I still had the sandwich Cagalli gave to me in the morning. I turned towards Lacus who was still packing and I gave her half of my sandwich. This was for yesterday when she shared with me her food.

There was a large smile on her face as she happily accepted it. "Thanks Kira!" she said as she took a bite. "Mmm! This is really yummy!"

"Of course it's yummy," I told her. "Cagalli made it." Anything Cagalli made always tasted good.

I quickly finished my share of the sandwich and I made my way outside. She followed me and she continued her incessant chatter. She didn't seem to get tired of talking.

Suddenly, I saw Cagalli. I felt relieved and happy to see her. I saw her waving at me and I ran towards her.

She bent down and pulled me into a hug and I breathed in her familiar scent. I liked her smell of flowers.

"Hey buddy, you shouldn't leave your friend behind," she said to me and I suddenly remembered Lacus.

I turned behind and saw her stop in front of us.

"Oh hello! You must be Kira's sister! Cagalli right?"

"Err, yes. And you are?"

"I'm Lacus. You're really pretty."

"Thanks," Cagalli laughed. "You're very pretty too, you know."

I frowned. Lacus had only talked to Cagalli for a few seconds and she already got her smiling and laughing. How come I couldn't do that? Did Cagalli like Lacus more than me?

"Really? Do you really think so?"

"Yes of course." If any, Cagalli's smile got wider and my frown got bigger. How come Lacus could make her smile like that?

"I really like you Cagalli. I wish I have a sister like you," Lacus said.

Oh no! She just said she wanted Cagalli. What was I going to do if Cagalli really left me for her?

"Do you have siblings, Lacus?"

"No, though I sometimes wish I do. It gets kind of lonely."

"You're always welcome to come over to our place, you know. I'll be very happy to have you over."

There! Cagalli said it! I was doomed! She liked Lacus and wanted_ her_ to come to _our _place. Who knew what will happen then? Lacus might replace me and Cagalli would forget me.

"Do you mean that?" Lacus asked and I wanted to shout 'NO'.

But Cagalli said otherwise. She said 'Uh-huh' which practically meant a yes!

Well, I couldn't let that happen. "Let's go!" I quickly grabbed Cagalli's hand and pulled her away. The sooner I got her away from Lacus, the better.

"It's nice to meet you Cagalli! See you tomorrow Kira!" I heard her call after us. I saw Cagalli turn her head to look back at Lacus. I just walked away faster.

We reached home and just as I was about to go up to my room, Cagalli stopped me.

"Kira wait!" she said. "I got something for you."

She walked over to me and handed me a package. I looked at her and she smiled at me.

"Go on, open it. I thought of you the moment I saw it. I thought you'd like it."

Cagalli just said she thought of me. She bought me a present. And it's not even my birthday. I unwrapped the package to a large box of colour pencils. It was the same as the one Jona had.

"Do you like it?" I didn't know what to say. So I hugged her. Cagalli laughed and she hugged me back. "So I guess that means a yes," she said.

Just then, the door bell rang. It was Shiho at the door. Cagalli got me to go upstairs to wash up and I did as she told me to.

I went inside my room and placed the colour pencils inside my desk drawer to keep it safe. Even though I was given a room of my own and my own bed, I still slept next to Cagalli on hers.

Once I had taken a bath and dressed up, I went downstairs. Cagalli and Shiho were at the front door. Meyrin had arrived and she brought a lot of bags with her.

"See Cagalli, what did I tell you? You've just gotten a permanent resident on board your house," Shiho said.

**To be continued.**

**oOo**

**A/N: ****I'M SO VERY SORRY!**** I know I said December and I'm a month late! I haven't written in a long time so I hope my writing didn't degrade as much. Tell me if I should redo this chapter. I know the latest craze with kids these days are iPad, PSP etc. But I'm going to pretend we're in the year 2000 where in my time, those things weren't really common. (Yes... I'm really old. It's 2012 now.) Athrun's coming up in the next chapter! Send me your thoughts and rotten tomatoes (I know I deserve it), if you're still reading this that is...**


	6. Chapter 6

_Dear diary,_

_Meyrin is staying with us for a few days. She said that it was raining inside her house. Cagalli later explained that her roof was only leaking. She has no where else to go until they fix it. And she brought so many things with her. It looked as if she had taken her whole house along. I really like the colour pencils Cagalli bought for me. I think I'll bring it to school tomorrow._

_Kira_

**oOo**

Chapter 6

"Hey Kira! Hi Cagalli!" It was that annoying girl again. She seemed to keep on appearing out of nowhere.

Cagalli stopped to search for her and I couldn't help but to dislike the girl even more.

"See you later Cagalli," I grumbled out before dashing into the school building. There was no way I was going to wait for the girl. I hoped she would stop bugging me.

I took my usual seat and waited for class to start. I was early and many of the students had not arrived yet.

"Good morning Kira!" Lacus said brightly as she sat down beside me.

I decided to ignore her. Maybe she would stop talking to me if I was unresponsive.

"I saw you and Cagalli just now. I called but you didn't hear me."

_I heard you. I just chose to ignore you._

"You ran in so fast, I couldn't catch up."

_That was the point._

"And Cagalli told me to pass this to you. She said that she even made some for me. That was really nice of her..."

I quickly snatched the brown paper bag and looked inside to see two sandwiches. I couldn't believe Cagalli made her a sandwich!

It was a good thing class finally started. It was the only thing that stopped her incessant chatter. I couldn't wait for school to end. The sooner I got away from her, the better.

I finally got rid of her during recess. I quickly gobbled down my plate of pork chops and ran out to the field. She came out looking for me minutes later.

"Hey Kira! You eat really fast. Most of us were not even done yet. You should really wait for us..."

"Go away," I cut her off.

She looked startled at first. And then she approached closer to me.

"Are you alright Kira?" she asked as she reached a hand towards me.

"I said leave me alone!" I shouted at her as I tried to brush off her hand. But I ended up shoving her to the ground instead. We stared at each other for a moment before I took off to the other direction.

I knew what I did was wrong and I honestly regretted it. But Lacus stopped following me afterwards. She didn't even talk to me anymore.

School was finally over and I waited outside the school building for Cagalli to pick me up. She had not arrived yet. I sat down on the steps and took out the sandwich she prepared. I didn't give Lacus her share.

"Hey Kira!" I turned around to see Athrun coming out from the front door. "Cagalli's not able to make it. She asked me to take you home."

Athrun was a really cool guy and I liked him a lot. He cooked really good food too. I trusted him enough and I climbed into the car with him.

We arrived home and he told me to wash up while he prepared dinner. I didn't bother telling him that Meyrin was staying with us.

I walked to the living room and grabbed fish food from one of the drawers. I poured some into Goldie's bowl.

Goldie wasn't eating. She just seemed to be floating on the surface of her bowl. She was acting really odd.

I tried to carry the bowl to Athrun. It was too heavy and I couldn't even lift it up. I ended up dragging him to the living room instead.

"Something's wrong with Goldie!" I told him.

He inspected Goldie closely for a while before looking back at me with a frown on his face.

"Sorry Kira, but Goldie's dead."

"But she can't be dead!" I protested with eyes wide. "Are you sure? Goldie is Cagalli's precious pet! Goldie cannot die!"

Athrun's eyes seemed to soften. "I'm sure Cagalli will understand," he said.

"B-But... But..." Tears started welling up in my eyes. Athrun did not understand. Goldie meant everything to Cagalli. It was a present from her father and I killed it. Cagalli was going to hate me. She would send me back to the orphanage and abandon me. "No you don't understand! Cagalli will be so mad!"

"I'm sure Cagalli won't be mad at you. It's not your fault-"

"Yes it's my fault and she's going to hate me!"

"You're her brother and Cagalli loves you. She will never-"

"You don't understand! We've got to do something!" I begged Athrun as tears uncontrollably streamed down my cheeks.

"Ok, I have an idea," Athrun said as he took a piece of tissue and dried my tears. "We can get another Goldie."

I looked at him for a moment and let his idea sink into my head.

"That's right. And Cagalli won't find out," I said.

"Well, we don't have to tell her if you don't want to."

I didn't want to lie to Cagalli but I knew she would be madder at me and hate me more if she knew I let Goldie die. I mean, it was probably my fault that Goldie was dead.

"I don't want to," I finally said.

"Alright then. Let's go now. If we hurry we can come back before she does. She just messaged me. She'll be home even later."

**oOo**

There were so many animals in the pet store. Athrun had gone straight to the shopkeeper to ask if he sold any goldfish.

"I'm sorry Sir. But this is a very rare breed," he said pointing to the clear plastic Goldie's body was in. "Even a pet store that specialises in fish would not have that breed. You would need to pre-order it."

Oh no. What did he mean? We couldn't get another Goldie?

"Is there any other way? We need one really urgently. Money will not be an issue."

"I'm sorry Sir. Even if we order now and have one flown in, it'll take at least a day."

Athrun and I looked back at each other. This was hopeless. There was no way Cagalli would miss an empty fish bowl.

"My daddy has a few of those fishes in his office," we suddenly heard a girl say.

Now where did she come from? Why did she always appear out of nowhere?

"Hey Kira. Is that Goldie? What happened?" she asked genuinely concerned.

"Goldie died," I half sobbed. "And we need to replace her before Cagalli comes back. But they don't sell her here."

Lacus reached for Goldie's bag and examined it.

"We have these in my daddy's office," Lacus told us.

"Are you sure they're of the same breed?" Athrun asked.

"I'm positive. This is an Imperial Goldfish. Am I right Sir?" she asked the shopkeeper.

**oOo**

_Dear diary,_

_I'm actually scribbling this now in the middle of our boring sharing session. Meyrin moved in with us yesterday and we spent the whole night chatting that I had no time to write. Fashion Week is starting! I'm just so excited! It could mean the highlight of my career or the end of it. If things go well, which it will, I'll be promoted to deputy executive! Needless to say, which it won't of course, I'll probably have to tender my resignation if things don't go according to plan. You see, I'm the one in charge Fashion Week. As you know, it's _the_ major event! Even more so than the Olympics! Oops, got to stop writing. It's my turn to talk soon._

_Yours truly,_

_Cagalli_

**oOo**

I just rang up Athrun. I couldn't fetch Kira home today. Some crisis had suddenly emerged. Apparently, one of the fashion magazines had not RSVPed and we were in the midst of planning the seating arrangements.

Athrun, I stressed yet again, was a life saver.

I was about to leave my office when Shiho burst through my doors. She looked really ridiculous wearing a bright yellow raincoat indoors. It wasn't even raining outdoors! I contemplated recommending my therapist to her. She probably needed one.

"We're going to war Cagalli!" Shiho announced with conviction.

"_We_?" Oops. Did I miss something here?

"Yes. _We_! It's either you're with me, or against me! So pick a side!"

"W-Wait, hold on a second," I said confused. "Rewind, go back to the start. I'm seriously missing something here."

Shiho wasted no time and plopped herself down on the seat across mine.

_"He's the most arrogant bastard! That idiot with a pea sized brain! He has a temperament of a menopausal old woman! I'll be damned in I have to marry him..."_

And a whole string of profanities followed afterwards. I never knew Shiho's vocabulary to be so colourful and extensive. Not once had she repeated a single word in the half hour she had been cursing the poor fellow.

At least I knew what she was going on about now. Apparently, she had finally met her betrothed during lunch. And let's just say they didn't hit off very well. She was now declaring war on him and I had to side with her. It didn't even made sense to me. But that was my best friend to you. Sometimes _she _didn't even make sense.

Another half an hour later and Shiho had finally cooled down. I settled a glass of water in front of her and she gulped it down in one shot.

"Come on Cagalli," she said standing up. "I need to unwind a little. Let's go pick Meyrin and the little buddy up."

"Actually, I think we can leave Kira home for a little while." Shiho had a look on her face, prompting me to continue. "I'll just ask Athrun to watch him a little longer," I said sheepishly. I knew it was wrong to take advantage of Athrun but I was sure a little longer couldn't hurt.

**oOo**

"What?" Meyrin exclaimed. "He's at _your _place now?" I merely mentioned Athrun taking care of Kira for a while and Meyrin became wild. "Erm... Why don't you girls go in first. I've suddenly remembered that I've got something very important to do-"

"Oh no you don't!" Shiho had cut off Meyrin. "You're not bailing on us now!" she said before dragging Meyrin into the club.

The party still had not started because it was still very early. But _Club Duel _was open regardless especially for those who just wanted to get a drink.

Shiho still wore her ridiculous yellow raincoat inside. If I had not been friends with the owner or the bouncers, she would not have even been admitted in.

"Oh for goodness sake Shiho! What's the _point _in you wearing_ that_?" Meyrin said.

"The _point _is so that I will not be recognised! _He _apparently comes here very often!" Shiho hissed back.

"Well, I'm not sure if that's working out very well. You seemed to be drawing a lot more attention here," I pointed out.

"Hey Cagalli. I see you didn't bring the little pipsqueak here," I saw Yzak approaching. "And who is this weird friend of yours?" I suddenly had a dreaded feeling. And I wondered why.

"Hey! Watch who you're calling-" Shiho did not complete her sentence.

"YOU!" Yzak and Shiho suddenly shouted together. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"I happened to be a regular here!" Shiho said first with her chin held high.

"And I own this place!" Yzak shot back.

Oh goodness. Somehow I had a feeling that everything was going to go down hill from here.

"What?" Shiho took only a second to recover from her surprise. "Why you over conceited jerk!"

"Bloody woman! You're mental!"

"Who are you calling mental? You old man! You should go back to the retirement home where you belong!" Shiho slammed her fist on the table.

"What? Who's the one wearing a retarded raincoat when it's not even raining?"

"What I choose to wear is none of your business! Does it matter to you?"

"Of course it does! I can't be seen around with you!"

"Oh please! It's not as if we're going to marry! And we won't! Because I won't agree to it! Are you mad? You think I would want to marry you?"

"Well neither would I!" Yzak shot back. It's scary how it looked as if my two friends were going to strangle each other. And I finally got what was going on. I looked at Meyrin and she seemed to have gotten the picture too. What did you know? What a really small world.

"Fine!" Shiho yelled.

"Fine!" Yzak retorted.

"Goodbye!"

"Farewell!"

"Good riddance!" Shiho had the last say before grabbing our hands and dragging us out of the club.

What an eventful evening! And if not but a rather embarrassing one too.

I drove Shiho home and much to Meyrin's reluctance, forced her to stay the night with Shiho. Shiho was still fuming and I realised that she could cause some major damage if left alone to her own devices. Someone had to watch her for the time being until she cooled down.

Athrun and Kira were midway in eating their dinner. They were eating rather late. They must had waited for me until their hunger got the better of them. Kira ran into my arms the moment I entered the house.

"Cagalli!" he exclaimed.

"Hey buddy. Sorry I couldn't pick you up today," I said as I saw Athrun approaching us from the dining room.

"Hey!" Athrun said as he leaned casually against the wall.

Wow. He looked really gorgeous- Wait, hold on there a second. Cagalli! Where were your thoughts flying off too?

"We saved some dinner for you too!" Kira said. "Athrun made really good spinach lasagna."

I looked at Athrun and I felt my cheeks grew slightly warmer. Phew. It seemed to be pretty hot in this house. No. It must be the alcohol taking its effect. Wait. What was I saying? I didn't even drink since I knew I was going to drive home.

It was also a very good thing that Shiho and Meyrin didn't come back home with me. I mean, how was I going to explain to Athrun that I ditched Kira to go out drinking? Not that I drank anything or that I would blatantly lie to him. I would just keep quiet and let him think that I was busy at work. Yea. That sounded right.

"I hoped you don't mind but I used your kitchen," Athrun broke me out of my thoughts.

"Yes! What? Oh no! I mean no!" I stammered over my words. "I mean, how could I mind? You should come over here and use it more often," I stopped myself before I could embarrass myself even further. There was an amused smile on Athrun's face. Hmm and I thought I saw a bit of red too. It must have been the lighting.

I cleared my throat and corrected myself. "I didn't really mean it like that," I said.

"Don't worry, I understand," Athrun replied. "Come on let's eat. The food's still warm."

After doing the dishes, which Athrun insisted on helping me with, I got Kira to go up and brush his teeth while I walked Athrun to the front door.

"Thank you Athrun. Really. I owe you big time."

"It's really alright Cagalli. We're neighbours. The neighbours around here always help out all the time."

"Yea well then I'm really glad I moved here. It's really different from the city."

"Oh, how so?"

"Well for one, you don't get get such good neighbours," I smiled at him. He smiled back at me. "Listen, I really can't let this go without repaying you. Isn't there anything I can do?"

"You really are not going to let this go, are you?" he chuckled

"Not a chance," I laughed.

"Well, if only you insist," he added.

"I insist," I replied.

"Well, the school's going to have a fund raiser. Parents and in your case, sisters, are always welcome to help out."

"Sure, when is it?"

"It's over the weekend."

"I'll be there."

**To be continued.**

**oOo**

**A/N: **It's short compared to the others and I'm not sure if it's up to mark but I really wanted to get this out before I delay it another month or so again. For those of you who were wondering if I had gone MIA, well, here's your answer. I'm really really really sorry. Is anyone still waiting for this story?


	7. Chapter 7

_Dear diary,_

_Goldie died today. But Athrun was there and he helped me find another Goldie. I'm really scared that Cagalli will find out and hate me and send me away. I don't want that. I was really mean and nasty to the annoying girl in school today. But she was still really nice to me. Without her, I and Athrun would never have gotten another Goldie in time. Lucky for us, she was at the pet store buying bird food for Mr. Pink. She brought us to her daddy's office. He was really nice too and gave us one of his fishes. I think I'll be nicer to her tomorrow._

_Kira_

**oOo**

Chapter 7

I had arrived in school slightly later today. I wasn't late as class had not started, but majority of my classmates were already there. Lacus was seated at her usual place together with Kuzzey and Sai. There was empty seat beside her. It was my seat.

I made my way there and cleared my throat when they didn't see me approaching. Lacus turned and her usual bright smile was plastered onto her face. How could she smile all the time? Didn't her mouth get tired? I also wondered how she managed to talk non-stop. I came to a conclusion that girls were weird. They were aliens from Mars except that they're not green with those antennas on their heads.

"Hello Kira!" she said cheerfully.

"...morning," I mumbled out as I reminded myself to be nicer to her. I thought her smile couldn't get any bigger, but it did when I finally acknowledged her for the first time.

When I sat down, she leaned over to me and whispered, "Cagalli didn't find out, did she?"

"No she didn't. If she did, I wouldn't be here now, would I?"

"Why wouldn't you be here?" she asked confused and I added another thing to my list of things about girls. Girls were stupid.

"Because she would have sent me away," I replied slightly irritated.

"But why would she send you away in the first place?"

Haumea, how I hated to be nice. I wish I could go back into ignoring her. She really was pushing my buttons. "Cagalli would have hated me if she found out about Goldie. She would also have sent me away," I finally said, hoping Lacus would stop asking anymore questions. I could only be nice until so much.

"Cagalli's too nice. She won't hate you for it. And she would definitely not send you away. She loves you."

I was grateful when Ms Gladys had cut short our conversation as Art lesson started. However, my mind kept on wondering to what Lacus had said.

_'She loves you.'_

Did Cagalli really love me? I thought back to the times she said 'I love you' to me. Actually, I couldn't remember any time that Cagalli had said that. Sure, she hugged me and gave me a few kisses, but she never said she loved me. My frown got even wider. Maybe Lacus was wrong. I didn't know if Cagalli loved me.

"Hey Kuzzey!" Jona came over to our table and interrupted me from my thoughts. "Do you want to use my colour pencils?" Jona asked as he waved some of the pencils in front of Kuzzey. The rest of Jona's friends were snickering away and I looked suspiciously at Jona. He must had something up his sleeves. He normally wasn't this nice.

"Wow, can I Jona? Will you let me?" Kuzzey said rather excitedly.

Jona grinned wickedly, "Why, of course Kuzzey. But on one condition."

"What is it?" Kuzzey looked warily at Jona.

"Be my slave for a week." At this, the rest of Jona's friends laughed even louder.

"Don't do it Kuzzey," Lacus said worried.

"Yea, it's not worth it!" Sai added.

"Oh keep quite you four-eyed freak. You're just jealous I didn't ask you!"

I couldn't help but feel angry at Jona. He was really mean. I stood up so suddenly that I got everyone's attention. Reaching for my bag, I took out my own set of colour pencils.

"It's alright Kuzzey. You don't need to borrow from Jona. I'll lend you mine." The look of shock and disbelief on the faces of Jona and his friends made me surprisingly happy.

"W-Where did you get those?" Jona stammered, his mouth opening and closing like what Goldie did back home.

"My sister bought it for me," I said proudly. Cagalli was really the best sister I could ever hope for.

"Wow, Kira! I didn't know you have those!" Sai said. "Can I borrow from you too?"

"Sure, go ahead. You too Lacus," I said which made her really happy.

"Thank you, Kira!" she smiled at me.

Jona gave us a sour face as he stormed back to his table.

"Alright class. Don't forget that this Saturday is the fundraiser. We've already sent the letters to your parents and guardians. Be sure to come," Ms Gladys finally said before she dismissed us for recess.

Athrun took me home again. Cagalli was really busy at work. The door was unlocked and I saw Meyrin shuffling around the house. Two luggages were in the middle of the hallway. I thought happily at the possibility that she might be leaving. I didn't think she liked me very much.

"Oh great! You're home, Cagalli!" Meyrin said as she was rummaging through her bag in the living room. Her back was turned to us; she didn't see that Cagalli was not here. "It's another one of those last minute trips again. I'll be back next week!" Meyrin finally turned around to face us. Her face really reminded me of a ripened tomato when she saw Athrun. It was really red. "A-Athrun!" she stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello. Cagalli's busy at work. I took Kira home from school. You're Cagalli's friend, aren't you?"

Meyrin just stood there speechless.

"Your face is red," I pointed it out to her. I didn't think she knew. If any, her face got even redder.

"I-I... Mfft! I'm gonna be late for my flight!" Meyrin squealed out rather hastily. "Oh look! My cab is here!" Just as Meyrin was grabbing her bags, Athrun stepped in and offered to carry her things.

"N-No! It's really alright! I-I can manage!" Meyrin said as she snatched her things from Athrun. There was a bewildered look on Athrun as we watched Meyrin trip over her feet and tumble out of the house. There was a cab waiting for her outside. "Bye Athrun! Bye Kira!" she practically yelled before she jumped inside the yellow vehicle.

"Did I do something wrong?" Athrun asked confused.

"No," I told him. "She's just weird." Walking over, I closed the front door and proceeded upstairs.

I lay curling up on the side of the bed in Cagalli's room. I had already washed up and done my homework. I was just waiting for Athrun to call me down to dinner.

I wondered if Cagalli would take me to the Fundraiser on Saturday. I remembered her telling Shiho and Meyrin that she was going to be very busy these days. It was Fashion Week or something. She probably would not have time for me, I thought sadly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Kira? You in there? Dinner's ready," I heard Athrun's voice.

I walked down to the kitchen with Athrun and sat down on one of the high stools. Athrun had cooked meat loaf and pees. Just as we were about to dig in, I heard the front door open.

"Cagalli's home!" I said to Athrun as I jumped off the stool and ran to the entrance to greet Cagalli.

"Hey Kira!" she said as she patted my head.

"Athrun cooked meat loaf tonight," I told her as she placed her bags on the table at the hallway. "We're just about to start eating. Will you come and join us?"

"Yea," she said as she went through her things. "In just a minute. Why don't you two start eating first? I'll join both of you later."

"It's alright," Athrun suddenly appeared and said as he winked at me. "We can wait a little longer."

"Yea! We'll wait!" I gave a smile to Athrun.

Cagalli paused for a moment. There was a frown on her face before she sighed. "Oh alright. I guess work can wait. Come on, let's eat. I'm starving anyway. Thanks again Athrun."

"It's my pleasure," Athrun replied.

We all sat down and ate together. The meat loaf was delicious. I was eating so fast that Cagalli had to tell me to slow down. I left the peas behind though. I didn't really like them. I poked them with my fork.

"Kira, eat your peas," Cagalli said. "They're good for you."

I looked down at the green bauble-like vegetable on my plate. They looked disgusting but I forced myself to eat them anyway. I didn't want to make Cagalli mad.

It was getting late and after Athrun left, Cagalli ushered me to bed. I climbed up onto her bed. I didn't like sleeping alone on mine. So Cagalli had let me sleep with her on hers.

As Cagalli tucked me in, I finally got the courage to ask her about the Fundraiser. I knew she was busy and that it would be really selfish of me, but a part of me still hoped that she could make some time.

"Cagalli?" I asked slowly.

"Yes, Kira?" she said patiently as she pulled the covers over me.

"The school has a fundraiser on Saturday. I was wondering if you're free. It's really ok if you're not because I know you are…" I couldn't stop myself from rambling.

She sat down beside me at the edge of the bed and she reached over to brush away some stray hair from my face.

"Yea, I heard about it. In fact, I told Athrun I'll help out," she smiled at me.

"So we're going on Saturday?" I asked to be sure.

"Yes, so go to sleep now. You still have school tomorrow morning."

I slept happily that night. I was really glad we were going.

We were all dismissed early on Friday so that we could get ready for the Fundraiser the next day. I was really excited for the fair; I had never been to one before. I heard that it was going to be like a carnival with lots of games, rides and food.

I was really surprised when Cagalli was the one who picked me up from school. I thought that it was going to be Athrun considering that Cagalli had been really busy at work.

**oOo**

_Dear diary,_

_I have never been so busy in my entire life! Fashion week starts on Monday and before that is Kira's Fundraiser on Saturday. I already promised Athrun that I would come! Actually I said that I would help out, which is worse! My schedule is even more packed than a can of sardines! I'm practically running on caffeine now. And I have to say goodbye to Sunday too considering that the grand opening of Fashion week is the day after. There are still lots of preparations to be done! Now I just have to figure out where I can dump Kira on Sunday…_

_Yours truly,_

_Cagalli_

**oOo**

I managed to get half a day off work today. After putting in double hours the day before and afterwards tripling it on Sunday, I managed to rearrange my schedule such that I would have the rest of the day and tomorrow free for Kira.

I arrived at Lunar Prep just in time as all the little munchkins swarmed out of the building. The school had dismissed the students earlier so that everyone could prepare for the Fair tomorrow.

"Kira!" I called him as soon I had spotted him. Over there at the front door was my brother with his unruly brown hair. A girl with bright pink hair was tugging behind him.

"Cagalli!" There was a bright smile plastered on his face as he left his friend behind again and ran towards me. "How come you're here? Don't you have work?"

"I took a half day off. We're going to bake cookies today for tomorrow."

"Hi Cagalli!" Kira's friend finally caught up to us.

"Hi Lacus, how are you?"

"I'm great! I'm really excited for the fair tomorrow. Kira said you're coming too, right?"

"Yea, we are. So I'll see you tomorrow ok?"

"Alright! See you tomorrow! Bye Cagalli! Bye Kira!"

Sweet Haumea. That girl – Lacus – just seemed to be bouncing off energy. She's totally different from Kira here.

We stopped by at the groceries before heading home. I needed to buy the ingredients to bake the cookies.

"What kind of cookies would you like Kira?" I asked him as I scrolled down the recipe I had gotten online.

"Chocolate chip cookies?" he supplied.

"Yea, ok. That sounds good." I pushed the trolley down the aisle and got a few packets of chocolate chips. I was thinking of baking the cookies from scratch. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard.

"Can we get more ice cream? We're running low on supplies," Kira suddenly said.

I nearly burst out laughing. I was rubbing off too much on the kid. He had developed an unhealthy obsession on ice cream just like I did.

Just before we made our way to the cashier, I grabbed some pre-mixed cookie batter just for safe measure.

When we reached home, I popped in some TV dinners into the microwave. I had totally forgotten about lunch. I laid the ingredients on the kitchen counter as Kira polished off his meal.

Ok, the recipe said one cup of butter. I looked at the glassware displayed on the racks. I took a coffee cup and tried to stuff the butter inside. The recipe used an awful lot of butter. I was about to start measuring the sugar when the house phone rang.

"Kira, could you answer the phone please?"

He did as he was told. I was reading the recipe again when I noticed that Kira had not come back to the kitchen. He was taking quite some time. I was about to check on him when he walked in from the front door with Athrun in tow.

"Hey," I said surprised. What was Athrun doing here? "What's going on?"

"Hey. Kira called me over," Athrun replied.

I looked down at Kira for an explanation.

"Shiho called. She told me to call Athrun," Kira said as he handed me the wireless phone. "She's still on the line."

"Shiho?" I pressed the received onto my ear.

"Oh Cagalli thank goodness I called! What were you thinking? Baking? Seriously? You could have set the house on fire! Thank goodness Kira told me what you're doing."

I wanted to roll my eyes. "Shiho, you don't give me enough credit. Seriously?"

"Is Athrun there yet? Has Kira gotten him?" she interrupted.

"Yes he's here."

"Oh good then I'll hang up now. Bye!"

"Hey," but before I could get another word in, Shiho had disconnected the line.

"Sorry about this Athrun. Kira didn't mean to come over and disturb you."

"No it's really alright. I see that you're baking?"

"Yea, Miss Gladys called me and asked if I cook bake some batches of cookies."

"Oh, would mind if I give you a hand?"

"Sure, I don't mind. It's my first time baking actually," I admitted almost embarrassedly.

The cookies turned out great! Of course, it was Athrun doing most of the work with me and Kira pitching in here and there.

"Mmm it's yummy!" Kira exclaimed as he took a bite. "Here Cagalli, try it!" He fed me his cookie. I took a bite. It was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. In short, it was delicious. "Try it Athrun!" Kira fed Athrun with the same cookie. Athrun didn't seem to mind.

"Mmm it's good isn't it?" Athrun smiled.

You know, I could really get used to this, Athrun coming over and all. I smiled back.

Suddenly, I had a mischievous idea.

I looked at Athrun and he looked at me with an eye brow raised, as if asking me what I was planning.

I lined my fingers with some flour and looked at my brother who was sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Hey Kira, you've got some flour over here," I laughed as I poked his nose, leaving a flour print on it. "And here… and here…" I said as I poked him all over the face.

Athrun was laughing along with me.

"Hey!" Kira protested, finally catching on to what I was doing.

"Here Cagalli, you've got some too," Athrun said as he used the left over cookie batter and drew a line on my face.

"Hey!" I laughed along with him as I tried to grab hold of some batter. I was going take my revenge. But Athrun was too fast. He grabbed the mixing bowl before I could get my hands on it.

Using the batter stuck onto my face, I wiped it back on Athrun's face.

"Kira! Help me! Get the bowl!"

Kira was in fits of laughter as he jumped off the counter and ran to hug cling onto Athrun's leg.

"Hey Kira, you're supposed to go after Cagalli! She was the one who left the flour on your face!"

"No! Get him Kira!" I said in between laughing. "Tickle him!" I declared. Kira and I swarmed around Athrun and started wiggling our fingers.

"Oh please, no more," Athrun said as he kept on laughing. The mixing bowl had been dropped a long time ago as Athrun tried to defend himself.

"Do you yield?" I asked him.

His eyes locked onto mine and with a grin, he said, "Never!"

"Then continue the tickling Kira!"

I didn't know how the tables were turned but all of a sudden I was on the receiving end of the tickles.

"H-Hey!" Tears were already forming at my eyes for laughing too hard.

"Do _you_ yield Cagalli?"

"Noooo- Ok alright! I yield!" I surrendered. I couldn't take anymore tickling. I was in hysterics. I dropped onto the kitchen tiles clutching my stomach from laughing too hard. Kira and Athrun joined me on the ground.

"That was fun," Kira said.

"What? The baking or the tickling?"

"Both!" Kira said and we all just continued laughing.

Kira and I got a lift from Athrun to school the following day for the Fundraiser.

Lunar Prep was bustling with people and decorations. There was loud music and banners and balloons were tied all over the place. Carnival rides and game tents were set up all around. There was even a petting zoo in the middle.

The three of made our way to Kira's class stall to deliver the cookies.

"Thank you so much Cagalli," Miss Gladys said as we passed her the packed cookies. "I can take over from here. You can take Kira and move around."

"So where would you like to go?" I asked Kira. He was very excited to be here. The boy was mesmerized by everything around him.

"Why don't we start with face painting?" Athrun suggested. It was one of the nearest booths.

"I want an airplane and a fire truck," Kira told the face painter.

"Come on, I'll paint your face Cagalli," Athrun said as he sat down on the opposite side of the table facing me.

"What? Is this part of your revenge for yesterday?"

"Perhaps," he smiled at me. "Come on." He took one of the brushes.

"Fine, but only if I get to paint your face too."

"That sounds reasonable. Ok. Come here," he said as he leaned towards me. "What would you like me to paint?"

"A lion," I told him as I tucked my hair behind my ears and brought my cheek towards him.

"A lion it is…"

After a few moments, I took a mirror and stared at my reflection.

"What is that?"

"A lion as what you requested," Athrun chuckled. "Doesn't it look like one?"

It looked more like Kira with whiskers.

"No," I said flatly.

"Ouch, you wound me Cagalli."

"My turn!" I announced as I swept the brush of his fingers. "What would you like?"

"You're not going to paint something hideous on purpose, are you?"

"That depends on my mood seconds from now. So what would you like?"

"Hmm that's tough, I'm not sure. Give me a minute to think about it," there was a playful smirk on his face.

"Quit stalling Zala. If you can't make up your mind, I'll choose for you."

"Alright, ok. I want… a pirate!"

"A pirate?" I asked skeptical.

"Yea. Or is that too hard for you?"

"No no, I can paint a pirate," I told him with my own mischievous grin.

"What's that?" Athrun asked when I was finally done with my master piece.

"What does it look like Zala?"

"I thought we're on first name basis Cagalli? And it looks a lot like a rose."

"Bingo. It is a rose."

"… I thought I asked for a pirate."

"Yea but I decided that I wanted a rose instead."

"Ok, we're done!" Kira said as he took Athrun's and my hand and started dragging us away. "I want to ride the carousel!"

I sat down by the bench made of hay as I watched Kira ride the pony round the little enclosure. Each time he passed by me he would wave at me. I would wave back.

"Here," Athrun said as he passed me a bottle of water. "Better drink up."

"Thanks," I replied as he took a seat beside me. He would wave back to Kira every time the boy passed by. "So how long have you been staying in Orb Planes?"

"We moved two years ago. It's a nice peaceful neighbourhood. The neighbours as you have met are all nice people."

"Yeah, I agree on that. Huh, we? I haven't seen anyone else around your house."

"Yeah, my parents are in the Plants right now. They left just before you moved in. You'll see them soon."

Before I could say anything else to him, Kira's ride had ended and he was running back to us.

"Can we go and play some games at the stalls now?" Kira asked excitedly.

"Yea sure," I replied as I let Kira drag us away again.

We met Lacus at the game stalls. Much to the dismay of Kira, Lacus had whisked him away to play hoop-in-a-bottle.

"Come on," Athrun motioned to me. "You know how to shoot?" He placed some coupons at the game counter.

"Never tried," I replied, picking up one of the rifles. "How does this work?" I asked, my fingers feeling and experimenting on the gun.

"Here," Athrun positioned the gun in my hands. I was so close to him I could practically feel his body heat. I let him guide me. He arranged the rifle on my hand before making me position my feet apart. Standing behind me and covering my hand in his, he continued, "And then, you take aim and fire."

There was a bang sound followed by the slight recoil of the rifle. Of course, this wasn't a real gun (it was just paintball) but the experience felt very real to me.

I looked at the dummy we shot. Our shot marked one of the bullseye regions.

"Wow, it looks like I've discovered one of my hidden talents," I smiled at Athrun.

"Hey do you two want to continue?" the game vendor interrupted. "Hit two more bullseye and you get a prize."

"Want to continue?" Athrun offered.

"Nah, I think I'm done showing off my skills. Why don't you try showing off yours?"

There was that crooked smile on his face again and before I could blink twice, he had easily shot all three bullseye. Talk about talent, that guy was a sniper.

As promised, the vendor had handed us a large stuffed lion.

"There's the lion you wanted earlier," Athrun smiled at me.

It was already quite late by the time we had reached home. Kira had already fallen asleep in the car and Athrun had to carry him up into our room.

"In here?" Athrun asked he entered my room carrying a sleeping Kira in his arms.

"Yeah, he still sleeps with me," I say as I pulled down the covers of the bed so that Athrun could lay the young boy down. I placed the large stuff lion on the bed beside Kira.

Sitting at the edge, I tried gently to take Kira's shoes off his feet. Athrun had helped me with the other shoe before proceeding to cover him with the duvet.

"Thanks," I told him as I walked him out the front door.

"It's no problem," he smiled at me. "I had fun today."

"I had fun too," I smiled back. I had really enjoyed his company.

I looked up to his green eyes. There were sparkling like a pair of emeralds. I felt inevitably drawn to him and I was pretty sure he felt the same way towards me. It was as if there was this invisible force pulling us closer together. Before I knew it, he stepped back.

"Good night, Cagalli."

**To be continued.**

**oOo**

**A/N: Oh me goodness gracious! Is this fandom dying?! Nooooo! It seems that there are less and less updates and new stories coming up. I really hope we don't die out. Fans out there! Don't die out! I'm so sorry for taking forever to update. After seeing the lack of movement from this Gundum Seed Fandom, I immediately stopped doing my work and resumed writing this chapter. Cheers to AsuCaga forever! Please read and review if you like.**


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